This week, social media users staged a collective shit-fit after "satire" site National Report published an article titled "Facebook To Begin Charging Users $2.99/mo Starting November 1st." According to the story, the only way to escape the subscription fee was to post a status update bearing the hashtag ‪#‎FacebookMonthlyFee‬, an instruction dozens of people immediately (and irately) followed.

Why a business that makes over 90% of its revenue selling its user's eyeballs to advertisers would suddenly start kicking those same eyeballs out wasn't especially clear, but credulous netizens were nonetheless incensed, taking their anger and confusion to social media.

Of course, not only is this story a complete hoax, it's so old it's practically prehistoric in Internet years. Since 2009, "news" of an imminent subscription charge have haunted Facebook, rumors the company has repeatedly denied.

Asked for comment about this specific iteration of the hoax, a Facebook spokesperson replied to Gawker with a screenshot of the site's log-in page, saying, "That's the best response in this case." As it has for years, the page reads, "It's free and always will be."

[Image via Shutterstock]

Antiviral is a new blog devoted to debunking online hoaxes. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.