When most of northwest Georgia was preparing for severe storms, one city had to contend with the idea that snakes are lurking in sewers — or so they thought.
Calhoun mayor Jimmy Palmer said the "City of Calhoun, Gordon County GA" Facebook page — where a post about a snakes originated — is fake.
“My wife saw it and actually called me,” Palmer told Channel 2 Action News.
The post, which has been up since 2:27 p.m. Monday, alleges a Calhoun police officer killed the “copperhead as it came out of the sewer in front of the courthouse” and urges residents to avoid the sewers, which may have more snakes. The post has garnered 19,000 reactions and more than 123,000 shares on Facebook — and it still has some panicked.
“I’ve had comments like ‘Is it safe to walk down the street’ and those things,” Palmer said. “I don’t think the people who put it on there realize the impact.”
The page, which has more than 12,000 followers, has been so believable other law enforcement agencies have tagged the page or shared its posts, Channel 2 reported. Police say it’s been difficult finding the owner since the page is usually taken down before the person is caught. The page was still open just after 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The city attorney plans to send a notice to Facebook notifying them of the fake page. The notice reads in part: “The objection is that this Facebook page impersonates and misrepresents to be the City’s official page by displaying a version of the official municipal seal and describes itself clearly as a “government organization.”
Fake city pages are hardly new.
In October 2016, comedian Ben Palmer created a fake city of Atlanta Facebook page, poking fun at the city's crime and public safety efforts. The city, however, responded to the Facebook page's use of the trademarked Atlanta City Seal, which was used without proper use. Creative changes were made to the satirical page's seal to avoid trademark conflicts.
But while the fake city of Atlanta page is still going strong (it has more than 154,000 followers), some are hoping the fake Calhoun page is removed from Facebook.
Calhoun Resident Matt Wiley told Channel 2 he is happy the city is adamant about the page’s removal: “For the sake of the city, that’s not a bad move just to make sure the people are informed. If you start spreading misinformation, panic might ensue, especially if it’s an alligator or a giant snake.”
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