Stephen King, the unequivocal king of horror, is afraid of one thing: Facebook.
On Friday, the outspoken 72-year-old author took to Twitter to inform his followers about his concerns over the spread of “false information” and privacy of the social network’s users.
“I’m quitting Facebook,” the author tweets.
“Not comfortable with the flood of false information that’s allowed in its political advertising, nor am I confident in its ability to protect its users’ privacy. Follow me (and Molly, a k a The Thing of Evil) on Twitter, if you like,” he says, referring to his pet Corgi, Molly.
I'm quitting Facebook. Not comfortable with the flood of false information that's allowed in its political advertising, nor am I confident in its ability to protect its users' privacy. Follow me (and Molly, aka The Thing of Evil) on Twitter, if you like.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 1, 2020
Now others on Twitter are using the hashtag “StephenKingChallege” to add support to King’s decision. “Who wants to be a bad ass like Stephen King and take #TheStephenKingChallenge to delete your Facebook or at least use it a lot less?,” asks one user dubbed Secret Agent Number 6, whose profile, which boasts over 102,000 followers, also reads “Facebook fugitive.”
However, some are reluctant to break it off with the social media giant.
“I have too many friends & family too far from me to be able to let go, but I am using it considerably less these days than I had been. #StephenKingChallenge,” tweets @Phyreflye.
“I still have my account but I’m only on there about twice a month for 5 minutes #StephenKingChallenge,” adds @angelamendez.
The legendary writer of more than 50 books is known for trumpeting his opinions and criticisms on social media, especially of President Trump.
Hey hey, ho ho,
Donald Trump has got to go.— Stephen King (@StephenKing) January 1, 2020
In January, Facebook announced that it will continue to allow the spread of false political advertisements through its channels, preferring to allow Facebook users to suss out the facts for themselves.
King’s preferred social media service, Twitter, said in October that it will cease disseminating political ads.
