Navigating Facebook easier said than Dunne for MP

Peter Dunne (File)
Peter Dunne (File)

The leader of the United Future party has Dunne himself a major disservice overnight - falling for a Facebook hoax and then compounding his error by sharing his original bogus post a second time.

While Facebook users well accustomed with the social media platform will be aware that posts such as these are a long-running ruse, others, like Peter Dunne, are less familiar.

The fabricated post, which has floated around the site and been copy-pasted by its most gullible users time and time again, is a statement thought to prevent private information being accessed by Facebook and its partners.

However, that has proved to be utter malarkey as much of the post's content is at odds with Facebook's terms of service, and the treatment of private information is dictated by local and international legislation.

But Mr Dunne's humiliating tale of social media ineptitude does not end there - the Minister of Internal Affairs also unwittingly shared his earlier erroneous post for a second time, essentially doubling his embarrassment and the ridicule he would ultimately receive.

"OMG he's in charge of stuff," wrote one shocked user, while another said they had "lost whatever faith I ever had in you as an elected MP".

And Mr Dunne didn't seem too happy to be the butt of the joke.

"It appears I have made a mistake, which I concede," he wrote in a comment beneath his second post, "but the gleeful gloating is a little pathetic."

It must be said that social media remains somewhat of a mystery for the older generation - and Mr Dunne is no spring chicken at the ripe age of 62 - but the MP must surely be wishing he'd asked the opinion of an advisor before posting.

Newshub.