[Chastity Eugina Hopson was arrested for possession of less than one gram of a controlled substance / Burnet County Jail]
A Texas woman is facing drug charges after being tricked by a fraudulent Facebook post warning local citizens about drugs tainted by the Ebola virus.
The Granite Shoals Police Department, located in Burnet County, Texas, recently posted on their Facebook page a fake breaking news story about local supplies of heroin and methamphetamine in the area possibly being contaminated by the Ebola virus, reports My San Antonio.
“If you have recently purchased meth or heroin in Central Texas, please take it to the local police or sheriff department so it can be screened with a special device,” read the Facebook post. "DO NOT use it until it has been properly checked for possible Ebola contamination!”
Although the fake alert was the department’s attempt at humour, that didn’t stop one woman from taking the joke as a real possible health concern.
Two days later police announced they had found their “first concerned citizen” after posting the mug shot of Chastity Eugina Hopson, 29, who was promptly arrested and charged for possession of less than one gram of a controlled substance after falling for the fake news alert.
Although some citizens afterword applauded the department’s social media posts, others were more critical, arguing that law enforcement had gone too far by socially shaming the woman, reports The Daily Mail.
The department eventually responded on Facebook, saying that the posts were simply its attempt at showing off their sense of humour to the public.
The viral Facebook posts have since been taken down by the Granite Shoals Police Department. In their place sits what appears to be picture of a cat driving with the straightforward caption: “And now here is picture of a cat.”