Fake News: Hitting Like And Share For Dust Storm Image Does NOT Cause Magic!

Fact Check

  • by: Alan Duke
Fake News: Hitting Like And Share For Dust Storm Image Does NOT Cause Magic!

Does magic happen three seconds after you "hit like and share" a dramatic image of an Australian windstorm? No, that's not true: Unless you consider the routine sharing of a post on Facebook as magical, as that is all that happens.

The fake magic began spreading with a post (archived here) published way back in the old days on July 23, 2012 and it is still blowing in the winds of social media. It opened:

hit like and share Wait 3 seconds and watch the magic (smiley face)

This is what social media users see:

Lead Stories tested the post to confirm our initial conclusion that there was no magic that would happen 3 seconds after we shared. Sadly, nothing happened.

A reverse image search of the dramatic photo revealed the image shows an incredible dust storm moving over Griffith, NSW, Australia, in November 2002.


  Alan Duke

Editor-in-Chief Alan Duke co-founded Lead Stories after ending a 26-year career with CNN, where he mainly covered entertainment, current affairs and politics. Duke closely covered domestic terrorism cases for CNN, including the Oklahoma City federal building bombing, the UNABOMBER and search for Southeast bomber Eric Robert Rudolph. CNN moved Duke to Los Angeles in 2009 to cover the entertainment beat. Duke also co-hosted a daily podcast with former HLN host Nancy Grace, "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace" and hosted the podcast series "Stan Lee's World: His Real Life Battle with Heroes & Villains." You'll also see Duke in many news documentaries, including on the Reelz channel, CNN and HLN.

Read more about or contact Alan Duke

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