Some students in Palm Beach County were utterly confused as to whether or not schools were opened on Monday, January 13. This was due to a fake photo that surfaced and circulated around Facebook.

This photo was edited by an individual to look as though school has been cancelled Monday, as well, due to flooding. While some actually believed this and did not attend school, others did not fall victim to the hoax.

“It looks fake, the wording is just terrible,” said sophomore Stephen Scordato, who saw the post first-hand.

However, those who were deceived by this post that had been shared over Facebook, failed to properly access the situation. According to sophomore, Jaycee Carpenter, there was an easy fix.

“If I had seen that photo prior to school Monday, I probably would have asked my mom or my friends,” said Carpenter. “and if they didn’t know, I would have just turned on the news.”

If you were one of the students that viewed this photo Sunday night, there were some alternative things you could have done. First and foremost, if you were questioning the validity of this post, you could have instead checked the official school district website to confirm whether or not the photo had been an actual screenshot of the website. Other options include asking friends, a parent, or even turning to the news. On Tuesday, Mr. Ramos reported that administration is still deciding whether students who were absent due to the post are being excused.