Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

$
Facebook posts
Facebook posts
stated on August 8, 2024 in Facebook posts:

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

False
By Loreben Tuquero
August 16, 2024

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

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.

See the sources for this fact-check

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

Claim about Graci Mae Thompson, with False logo, 8-16-2024
Figure 1: Claim about Graci Mae Thompson, with False logo, 8-16-2024

(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:

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. ​

Edit history from Facebook users posting about Graci Mae Thompson, 8-16-2024
Figure 2: Edit history from Facebook users posting about Graci Mae Thompson, 8-16-2024

(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.

Our Sources

Facebook post (archived), Aug. 8, 2024

Facebook post (archived), Aug. 8, 2024

Facebook post (archived), Aug. 8, 2024

Facebook post (archived), Aug. 8, 2024

Facebook post (archived), Aug. 9, 2024

Facebook post (archived), Aug. 9, 2024

Email exchange with Rebecca Steinbach, senior producer at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Aug. 15, 2024

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Don't Be Fooled: Tips for Spotting Fake Missing Child Posters, July 11, 2024

NamUs Missing Persons Search

Search through National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s database

Search through FBI Kidnappings & Missing Persons

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Amber Alerts, accessed Aug. 15, 2024

ABC News, Mia Graci Thompson: Abducted 3-Week-Old Found Alive; Mother Arrested, Sept. 27, 2012

PolitiFact, This viral social media photo does not show a missing child in Pike County, Missouri, July 2, 2024

Lead Stories, Fact Check: Teen Named 'Graci Mae Thompson' Is NOT Missing In Various Cities -- This Is Part Of Real Estate Scam, Aug. 14, 2024

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Loreben Tuquero
Social Media
stated on February 14, 2026 social media posts
The Epstein files “expose Ellen DeGeneres” as a cannibal.
Pants on Fire!
Social Media
stated on February 8, 2026 social media posts
An image shows Bad Bunny wearing a dress and burning the U.S. flag.
Pants on Fire!
Donald Trump
stated on January 5, 2026 a graphic on Truth Social and Instagram
The former U.S. childhood vaccine schedule called for babies to get “72 injections.”
False

Did the 1948 Smith-Mundt Act hold news broadcasters accountable for ‘lying’? That’s wrong

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on January 7, 2026 a press briefing

stated on January 14, 2026 a statement

Social Media
stated on February 14, 2026 social media posts



stated on January 20, 2026 an op-ed


Donald Trump
stated on February 3, 2026 remarks in the Oval Office


Social Media
stated on February 8, 2026 social media posts





Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on stated on November 17, 2025 in remarks at George Washington University:

Donald Trump
stated on February 2, 2026 an interview with Dan Bongino