Goodbye Meta AI Viral Post Flooded Instagram and Facebook

You may have noticed, over the past few months, that the “Goodbye Meta AI” post has resurfaced everywhere on Instagram and Facebook. Thousands of people, including several prominent celebrities, got swept up in the frenzy, reposting a message that said, essentially, that Meta was going to use their data for AI training unless they said otherwise by sharing the post. It is a post with the tone of a warning notice in that it calls upon users to publish a statement to prevent Meta’s AI systems from using their data.

However, this post is not just a hoax; the claim is misleading. Actually, what that viral message is saying is that should the person not share this post, automatic permission will be given to Meta to use personal data, photos, and posts for AI training. In reality, sharing the post will do absolutely nothing in having any effect on your privacy setting whatsoever or protecting your data.

What’s Behind the Goodbye Meta AI Post?

The sudden flood of “Goodbye Meta AI” posts is a direct reaction to Meta’s updated privacy policy in 2024, which subtly clarified that the company would use publicly available content, including posts, photos, and interactions, to train its AI models.  That set off many users, since most of them did not know that publicly shared content could be repurposed to train AIs. That post went viral because the public was outraged, coupled with misinformation about what users could do to control their data.

While the post is a legal safeguard, it’s an old copypasta with zero real legal standing. It is a message that has been regurgitated since as far back as 2012 and seems to incite panic. But Meta does allow users to object to the use of their data for AI purposes-just do it through the proper channels, say, the privacy settings within the app. Just resharing this statement on your feed does nothing to change your data permissions.

How to Protect Your Data (For Real)

But if you really care about your data usage by Meta, it won’t help by reposting those viral messages such as “Goodbye Meta AI”. Rather, take control over your data now by going into privacy settings on your Facebook or Instagram account. Now, Meta provides at this point in time the possibility to request objection to using information about you in AI training. This may not completely stop data usage, but that’s the procedurally accepted process by Meta, at any rate.

On Instagram, go to Settings > Privacy Center, where you can object to AI training. The same applies to Facebook. The catch is, well, you really need to make the proper moves if you want to keep as much of your public content from being recycled in Meta’s AI experiments.

As the “Goodbye Meta AI” post gained traction, users began attaching commonly used hashtags like #MetaAI, #ProtectYourData, #GoodbyeMetaAI, and #DataPrivacy to amplify its reach. The fact that these hashtags carried some veneer of credibility with larger conversations about online privacy and AI ethics is because they were somehow held in regard. For anything to do with data policies and the protection of personal information, refer to official sources. For instance, you can visit USA.gov’s Data Privacy Guide for trustworthy information on data protection, or check out official publications on AI and privacy from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). These websites give non-technical, well-informed recommendations for keeping your information private.

Why the Goodbye Meta AI Post Went Viral on Instagram and Facebook

The “Goodbye Meta AI” post went viral largely due to a perfect storm of fear and misunderstanding. Added to the mix was a sense of urgency when it mentioned “legal consequences, so it really spread like wildfire in the midst of people’s mistrust with big techs. Influencers and celebrities also played a huge role in amplifying the message. Big names like James McAvoy and Tom Brady shared it, giving the illusion that this is a piece of information one can trust​.

Ultimately, this post serves as a timely reminder that social media misinformation is often propagated at lightning speed. Secondly, celebrity endorsements lend an air of credence to content viral storms-even those that are false..