I don’t know who needs to hear this, but the Instagram policy post is a hoax

If you've been on Instagram at any point over the past 48 hours, you probably have seen some variation of a post saying "tomorrow starts the new Instagram rule where they can use your photos. Don't forget Deadline today!!! It can be used in court cases in litigation." The grammatically erroneous post goes on to cite "Channel 13" and the Rome Statute, implying that users can screenshot and repost the clearly doctored image for some sort of legally binding protection of their intellectual property.

Anyone who recognizes that the font of "Instagram" in the post is the same font as anyone who adds text to an Instagram story could easily detect that the screenshot was more than likely a hoax. But celebrities didn't: Julia Roberts, Judd Apatow, Julianne Moore, Rob Lowe, Shane Smith, Scooter Braun, Taraji P. Henson, Tina Knowles, Wacka Flocka Flame, Usher, and even secretary of energy Rick Perry all reposted the same shit.

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but the Instagram policy post is a hoax. And if you can't take my word for it, take Facebook company spokesperson Stephanie Otway's: “There’s no truth to this post." Furthermore, you pretty much cede all of your intellectual property to Instagram when you sign up. It's all in the terms of service: "We collect the content, communications and other information you provide when you use our Products, including when you sign up for an account, create or share content, and message or communicate with others."

So there you have it.

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