CNN and Facebook Agree to Pay Half the Expenses to the Baby's Family - Hoax

Story:

The parents can’t afford it so CNN and Facebook are agreeing to pay half the expenses for the family and the kid so please dont ignore and help and spread the word.

1 Like = 20$
1 comment = 50$
1 share = 100$

Analysis:

The Facebook message shows a picture of a baby with deformed legs held by a doctor in a hospital and claims that CNN and Facebook have agreed to pay half the medical expenses to her family – for simply liking, commenting and sharing the picture on Facebook. Although the picture is genuine, the claim is just another Facebook hoax meant for marketing.

About the Picture

The baby girl shown in the picture is a Peruvian girl named Milagros Cerron, who was born with a birth defect called Sirenomelia. Her legs were fused together like a mermaid’s tail, which is why she became popularly known as the ‘Mermaid girl’. The above picture was taken in 2005, before she had to go through few surgeries over the years in order to make her legs normal and then make her walk. However, she needed further operations to reconstruct her urinary tract, and the city of Lima had pledged to pay for her operations. Presently, Milagros Cerron is 9 years old and the last reports said she needed a kidney transplant.

But nowhere it is mentioned that either CNN or Facebook is going to pay for the medical expenses of the ‘mermaid girl’, and definitely not based on the number of Facebook likes, comments or shares her picture receives. This message is yet another Facebook hoax that exploit sensitive stories and pictures, in the name of helping the people in distress, especially children. These messages are simply meant for gaining Facebook likes and undeserved attention. Therefore, such false messages should not be shared or encouraged, it will not do any good to the people/children in question.