A Jan. 9 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) includes several photos of a young boy and a dog.
“HELP!!! #Scottsdale My son Brayden JOHNSON took off this morning with our dog hank," reads the post's caption. "He autistic (sic) and has been missing for eight hours if anyone sees him please PM me please re-post on any sites. I already contacted police."
The post was shared more than 250 times in just over a week. Other versions of the claim, some of which include different images but the same caption, said the boy went missing from states including Maryland, Georgia and Tennessee.
Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks
Police departments in several cities where the claim spread said there is no record of a missing boy with that name in their jurisdiction. The posts are an example of a copy-and-paste scheme that a misinformation expert previously told USA TODAY is used by scammers to identify potential targets.
There is no boy with that name missing out of the Phoenix-area city, said Scottsdale Police Department Officer Aaron Bolin.
Neither is he reported missing from Baltimore, Maryland, or Fitzgerald, Georgia, according to Baltimore Police Department spokesperson Det. Niki Fennoy and Fitzgerald Police Department Major James Reynolds.
The boy hasn’t been reported missing...
Secretary-General says Tehran’s claims are provocative and threaten regional stability Abu Dhabi: Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jassim Mohammed Al Budaiwi has strongly condemned ...