‘Goodbye Meta AI’ is the latest viral story doing the rounds. But what actually is it?
The Instagram story template, which features an orange gradient background and a chunky wall of text (very official), has been circulating since early September. It claims that reposting protects your data and personal information against the tech giant Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram).
Usually, faux trends like this don’t typically gain traction; however, in the new wave of generative AI, this story template has really convinced the internet and has so far been shared by over 600,000 people (so far), including celebrities such as James McAvoy, Ashley Tisdale and Tom Brady.
As tech giants slowly but surely start to change their privacy policies to incorporate AI technology, chatbots, and customer data, it’s clear that internet users are becoming more aware, albeit paranoid, about how their data is harvested and used.
The message reads, “Goodbye Meta Al, please note an attorney has advised us to put this on, failure to do so may result in legal consequences. As Meta is now a public entity, all members must post a similar statement.”
“If you do not post at least once, it will be assumed you are okay with them using your information and photos. I do not give Meta or anyone else permission to use any of my personal data, profile information or photos.”
However convincing the message might be, posting an Instagram story, unfortunately, has no legal standing. Meta’s actual terms for terminating the agreement are, as it stands, deleting your account: “If you delete or we disable or delete your account, these Terms shall terminate as an agreement between you and us”, or alternatively, opt out proactively by clicking on “Settings & Privacy” in Facebook, then on “Privacy Centre” and opting out via a form.
More recently, as a forewarning to users, when the message is now shared on Instagram stories, it’s blocked out by a warning that the message contains "false information."
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