Facebook Shutting Down Rumor Goes Viral: Site Said To Be Ending March 15, 2011 (UPDATE)

It's not clear how it started, but a ridiculous rumor that Facebook is shutting down is spreading fast on social networks.

The hot rumor -- evidenced by Google Trends and gaining traction on Twitter -- says that on March 15, 2011, Facebook will be closing down. Not taking a day off, not undergoing maintenance, but ending entirely.

The rumor has led to such frantic tweets as, "Facebook will be shutting down on March 2011? I hope not!" (@MissAyl) and "So the rumor is Facebook is shutting down....please don't jump to twitter & ruin my social networking experience" (@jjelksboss).

Facebook users are also concerned. Says one: "Facebook is shutting down on March 15, 2011 for good D: Is there any way we can stop this!?!?" And a group has already started to stop Facebook from shutting down.

Ironically, Yahoo announced last month that its "Yahoo Video" will be closing down on the date in question, March 15, 2011, and videos can be seen for the last time on March 14. But that hardly means it's taking the rest of the Internet down with it.

Just a day ago, an opinion piece published on CNN said that the recent Goldman Sachs investment was the "beginning of the end" for Facebook. That post went viral with more than 5,000 Facebook "likes" and could be partially to blame for the ensuing panic.

Whatever the reason for this rumor, it's safe to say that as a site with more than 500 million users and a $500 millon investment from Goldman Sachs recently, Facebook won't be shutting down anytime soon.

UPDATE (3:30 p.m. ET) ABC News speculates that the rumor started with this post published Jan. 8 by the satirical Weekly World News. Facebook has yet to officially respond to the rumor.

UPDATE: (6 p.m. ET) Facebook has officially responded to the rumors with a tweet: "We didn't get the memo about shutting down, so we'll keep working away. We aren't going anywhere; we're just getting started." A company spokesman also dismissed the rumors as "silliness."

Comments

[steve1975]

10:12 PM on 01/29/2011

Something is happening:
http://03-15-2011.com/

[Andrei Polin]

07:18 PM on 01/29/2011

Facebook will not be SHUTDOWN – smartest ripoff ever - http://articles.xp3.biz/?p=340

[Andrei Polin]

01:11 PM on 01/29/2011

FaceBook will be not closed! REVEALED article story - http://books.netne.net/?p=881

[Andy Clark]

11:00 PM on 01/28/2011

wow. lots of sheeple...

[ryanaparker]

04:32 AM on 01/27/2011

REACTION TO FACEBOOK SHUTTING DOWN:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMvp75jjS-o

Check it out please. Funny!!

[moneybook2u]

05:13 PM on 01/15/2011

facebook is not closing down. they will do site maintenance for few hours on March 15, 2011.

i have a reliable source...who confirmed that. some how its bumerang!

Roni.Mmi (Founder)
Online Earning Social Network
http://www.moneybook2u.com

[moneybook2u]

05:27 PM on 01/15/2011

Nope its not true, just rumors. pro

[John Davis fb]

05:29 PM on 01/15/2011

Lol, rumors ftw!

[queenjulia]

09:20 AM on 01/14/2011

It is amazing to me that anyone would even take stock or even have the ability to start such a ridiculous rumor. I suppose everyone is bored with the REAL news. Ain't life grand!

[MichaelAllenKelly]

04:23 PM on 01/12/2011

If only it were true. There is no greater example of the narcissism that infects American culture than Facebook.

[Rion James Dunkin]

05:40 PM on 02/10/2011

Don't you mean the world, Facebook is worldwide.

[Martel LXIV]

07:10 AM on 01/12/2011

One could only hope that both Facebook and Twitter would disappear without ever being replaced. They both create far greater social problems than can ever be resolved.

Of course, they won't go away because there is money to be made (one way or the other), and the population of a disintegrating empire needs to have the most efficient methods to do nothing in order to speed up the onset of the final disaster.

[samuraifrog37]

05:56 PM on 01/12/2011

What's the final disaster pray tell? Did you mean un-assed-her maybe?

[Cynth Bage]

01:51 AM on 02/02/2011

Maybe there will be massive demonstrations should Facebook end up shutting down... you know, like what happened in Egypt after social networking sites, internet connections and cell phones were disconnected by the government?

One can only hope.

[Krystan Elyse]

02:40 AM on 01/12/2011

I am in the middle about this issue; most of me would enjoy to see facebook to finally come to an end so that so many people my age could be somewhat productive again, but the other half am apprehensive about this. What is going to happen to all the information each facebook user had? So much personal information( age, school, mobile number, etc.) is shared over facebook, and if someone with bad intentions got ahold of all that, it would be horrible. Facebook was such an amazing idea but now its gotten out of hand for teens. Personally, I always have a facebook tab on my browser, I will never sign out. And with any academic activity I am using my laptop for, I always seem to end up on facebook again. Its an addiction and getting hard to use self-discipline. But aside from that, it is keeps me intouch with sooo many of my friends and even relatives. Many people I know don't even own cellphones and live nowhere near me so we just stay in contact over facebook. I have also found old friends from my childhood and been able to catch up. Facebook doesn't need to be shutdown but it need to be used in moderation, and right now it is not at all.

[Ian Faus]

01:28 AM on 01/12/2011

How I wish this were true and the abomination that is Facebook is finally brought to an end ! Unfortunately, this won't happen because all the teenage girls, the retirement home cyber-grannies and grandpa's and the stay at home slackers will rise up in rebellion and burn down the country. Not to mention the fact that the good bankers from GOLDMAN SACS were so enamoured with this social-media monstrosity that they subverted the SEC rules just so they could get their beaks wet.

Nope Facebook isn't going to close anytime soon, not until Goldman Sacs still has money to make out of it!

[heliogastricKid]

01:06 AM on 01/12/2011

Beware the ides of March.

[costellowriter]

11:10 PM on 01/11/2011

I actually wouldn't car if facebook did shut down.
http://bizcovering.com/business/let-it-crash/

[Good Wolf]

11:10 PM on 01/11/2011

Do we have to wait until March? Why not now?

[nhr 215]

08:54 PM on 01/11/2011

Ridiculous rumor, however, I wouldn't say they are "just getting started." They are definitely past their peak, both in terms of valuation and in terms of what they can accomplish...