Facts Matter: Amazon customer address were not hacked
As package delivery hits high gear during the holidays, Amazon customers are being warned on social media that the company’s data was jeopardized. Some customers found the address of an Amazon Hub location added to their orders although they hadn’t requested one.
The Hub pickup location gives customers an option of not having a package delivered to their home address. Hub lockers can be located in a business or apartment complex and customers can be asked to provide a code to pick up the items.
“Amazon got hacked. For USA based people, check your Amazon account. Hackers added HUB lockers as your default delivery addresses,” read a Dec. 9 Instagram post.
A Dec. 7 Facebook post said packages were being redirected to HUB locations so thieves could “pick up your stuff without you knowing.”
The alternate pickup locations actually were saved to some accounts, according to PolitiFact. But Amazon was not hacked; it made a mistake.
The company’s customer service account on X, @Amazonhelp, replied to posts about the issue.
“This isn’t a data security matter and our systems are secure. Amazon pickup locations were added to a small number of customer accounts in error, and we are working to fix the issue,” the post read.
In a follow-up post, the company wrote, “We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, and customers with questions about their account are welcome to contact customer service.”
Amazon didn’t provide any information about how many customers were affected.
Trump not 2023 Time Person of the Year
A recent social media post shows a Time magazine cover announcing former President Donald Trump as the publication’s Person of the Year.
“Donald J Trump: TIME Person of the Year,” reads the caption on the Dec. 6 Facebook post. Users reacted with comments such as “About time! Best President ever,” “Great news” and “Absolutely!!”
But this post is misleading and implies the former president was just given that honor, according to USA Today. The image shows a Time magazine cover from 2016 when Trump was actually named Person of the Year.
The Time 2023 Person of the Year is singer Taylor Swift.
On Dec. 5, Swift was named Person of the Year, an honor the magazine said is given to “individuals who most shaped the headlines over the previous 12 months, for better or for worse.”
She was chosen for “embracing what she does better than anyone, entertaining and writing songs that connect with people,” Time said.
In 2020, USA Today debunked a similar claim that Trump was given the honor then. That year, the Time People of the Year were President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris.
X didn’t claim statistic
The Walt Disney Company in November paused its ads on the social media platform X, following an endorsement of an antisemitic post by X CEO Elon Musk.
A recent post on X claims the platform has reported changes in its content since then.
“Child Grooming Content On X Reduced By 83% After Disney Pulls Ads,” reads a Dec. 3 post, which cites an article published by The Babylon Bee.
But that’s not a real report or a real statistic, according to Reuters. The Babylon Bee is a satirical website, which claims it publishes “Fake news you can trust.”
A search of the platform shows that there are no credible reports that X made this claim, Reuters said.
Musk didn’t give away gold bars
A post on Facebook shows X CEO Elon Musk making an offer.
“I’m back again with another crazy giveaway for you guys! This time we’re giving away FREE Pure Gold Bars!” reads the caption with a video of Musk.
In the video, Musk appears to talk about how times are tough, and instead of paying his tax bill, he “would rather give that money to the hardworking, under-appreciated American public.
“I will be giving free gold bars to the first 10,000 people who see this video.”
But the video, which has been viewed more than 151,000 times, is fake, according to PolitiFact. The audio has been altered.
The video was taken from footage of Musk from a virtual talk he gave at the February 2023 World Government Summit. At that time, he talked about his vision for X, but he didn’t mention gold bars.
In the fake video, Musk supposedly tells people to enter their personal information and pay a $9.95 shipping fee. But the link leads to a website about science which doesn’t mention Musk or gold bars.
• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.