Viral posts about a lost child separated from his mother aren’t authentic

Images of a badly bruised child are spreading on social media in posts that implore users to share his story so that he might be reunited with his mother. 

"This little boy approximately 2 years old was found last night walking behind a home here in #San Diego," read a Sept. 15 post shared in a public Facebook group called "Entrepreneurs San Diego." "Deputy Tyler Cooper saved him and took him to the Police Station but no one has an idea where he lives, the neighbours don't know him or how he got there. He says his mom's name is Ella. Let's flood our feeds so that this post may reach his family, thank you."

The only problem? A nearly identical post with the same images was shared the same day in another Facebook group for residents of Oxnard, California, nearly 200 miles from San Diego, to find "free stuff."

The only thing different in this post was where the boy was supposedly found: "walking behind a home here in #Oxnard."

Yet another post shared Sept. 16 in a group for residents of Parlier, California, and four other California cities, including Fresno, to buy, sell and trade goods said the boy was found "walking behind a home here in Parlier."

These posts were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

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The claims in this post aren’t authentic. Here are some clues as to why. 

• "Deputy" isn’t typically a title at police departments; if "Deputy Tyler Cooper" was bringing the child back to a law enforcement agency, it would likely be a sheriff’s department. 
• These posts aren’t just similar to each other — they follow the same script that’s appeared in previous social media pleas. In early September, for example, we fact-checked a claim that "Deputy Ryan Braidley" saved an "approximately 3 years old" who was "found last night walking behind a home." These posts also varied in where the child was supposedly found. And they featured a different bruised child.

We looked for, but found no, credible news reports or other public information such as law enforcement statements to corroborate the claim that the child in any of these posts was found walking behind a house and has been separated from his mother. 

Flood your feed with facts: These claims are False.