Don’t fall for posts saying a teen named ‘Graci Mae Thompson’ is missing. They’re fake

Facebook posts have sounded the alarm over the disappearance of a 15-year-old named Graci Mae Thompson, who has supposedly been missing since July 22.

But upon further inspection, the posts showed some inconsistencies.

Multiple Facebook users posted two photos of a wavy-haired girl with braces and said, “My daughter has been missing since July 22nd!” They list the same attributes:

• Name: Graci Mae Thomspon

• Age: 15

• Height: 5’2

• Weight: 103

• Hair color: Originally strawberry blonde, but recently dyed black

• Last seen in black shorts and a black shirt

(Screenshot from Facebook)

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 and Instagram.)

PolitiFact found at least four different users claiming this is their daughter, posted with hashtags of at least six different locations, including the following:

• Lake Worth (now Lake Worth Beach), Florida

• Winston-Salem, North Carolina

• Medford, New Jersey

• Tuttle, Oklahoma

• Moses Lake, Washington

• Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Searches of a missing teen named “Graci Mae Thompson” in national missing persons databases and news reports yielded no matches of the posts’ description. PolitiFact tried to look for the photos’ source through reverse-image search but found no results. There are also no current Amber alerts that match this name and description.

In 2012, an Amber Alert was issued for a 3-week old named Mia Graci Thompson in Toulon, Illinois; she was later found alive. But PolitiFact found no evidence of a girl named Graci Mae Thompson who is now reported missing.

Rebecca Steinbach, senior producer at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, told PolitiFact, “We do not have anyone by that name currently missing.” 

The center warns people about fake “missing posters,” which may have red flags such as the lack of a credible source (such as a law enforcement agency or a news outlet), misspellings and no information on how to respond.

PolitiFact checked the users’ other posts about Thompson. In two instances, PolitiFact found that the users had posted about missing children before, then changed those posts to advertise properties for sale. ​

(Screenshots from Facebook)

Two users posted the information in multiple Facebook groups, using different location hashtags.

PolitiFact previously debunked a similar post claiming that a photo showed a missing girl in Pike County, Missouri. The image and name appeared in multiple posts claiming she was missing in several locations.

The claim that a 15-year-old named “Graci Mae Thompson” is missing is unverifiable. We rate it False.

PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

By

Loreben Tuquero

Staff writer

August 16, 2024

Truth-o-meter Ruling

False

IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT

• PolitiFact found no evidence that a 15-year-old named "Graci Mae Thompson" was reported missing.

• Users posted this information and photos in Facebook groups for buying and selling items in different locations. Some of these users had a history of posting about supposed "abducted children" only to edit the posts to advertise properties for sale.

Statement

A 15-year-old named “Graci Mae Thompson” is missing.

Context

Facebook posts

Speaker/Target

Speaker: Facebook posts

Statement Date

August 8, 2024