With nearly one million Americans having been diagnosed with coronavirus, most people know at least one person who has gotten COVID-19. Sara Ancich and her family have been fortunate enough to have been spared from the virus so far, but you wouldn't know it looking at Facebook. That's because an ad on the platform for face masks has been using an unauthorized photo of Sara, her husband and their children saying they all got COVID-19. Worst of all, the advertisement also claims that all of them except for Sara's youngest son died from it.
An upset Ancich spoke to her local news show, saying, "Who would have the audacity to clearly not know a family and type that they had died. It's on the forefront of everybody's mind in the news and everything, and how quickly it is taking lives. It could so clearly be true to people." And in fact, many people who know Ancich saw the ad and reached out to Sara concerned, getting confirmation that it wasn't true.
Another thing that's false? The claim in the ad, which is for FilterMax, that their respirator face masks are FDA approved - they aren't.
Ancich reported the video but it would still show up in her feed. As for how her photo wound up in the ad, she explained it's been years since she shared the pic, but a reverse image search shows it appears on various Pinterest boards that include examples of family photos. She stated, "It was upsetting. It's violating. I don't know how I could have prevented this or I would have."
The reporter Ancich spoke with was able to get in touch with Facebook, who pulled the ad. Facebook has also banned all ads having to do with hand sanitizer, face masks, wipes and coronavirus testing kits.
Photo: YouTube/CBS Los Angeles