Police troll public with social media shutdown prank

When they’re not out catching criminals and saving lives, it appears the police are spending their time trolling the public online.

Allen County Sheriff’s Office, which is located in Kansas in the United States, has gone viral, after they posted a Facebook message claiming they were shutting down social media for one day only.

“Due to the extensive and repeated misuse of Facebook and other social media applications within this jurisdiction we will be blocking all Allen County access to Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Tumblr and YouTube between February 28 and March 1,” the post read.

Allen County Sheriff’s Office, which is located in Kansas in the United States, has gone viral, after they posted a Facebook message claiming they were shutting down social media for one day only. Photo: Facebook/Allen County Sheriff’s Office
Allen County Sheriff’s Office, which is located in Kansas in the United States, has gone viral, after they posted a Facebook message claiming they were shutting down social media for one day only. Photo: Facebook/Allen County Sheriff’s Office

Given it's not a leap year, there is no day between February 28th and March 1st, with the police pranking the Kansas public over their social media usage.

However, the early April’s Fool’s joke was clearly lost on a lot of followers of the sheriff’s office page, with some people outraged with the police over their plan.

“Only in Kansas. They can't get away with this! Literally,” one person said to which the police replied: “There is no, “getting away with it.” We are doing it as we have stated in our Notice. We just wanted to give everyone advance warning so they could have a chance to plan.”

“I home school my boys. They have to have internet to do their daily work. We go either to the library or hospital to use there wi-fi. Is this going to affect them?” another woman said on the page, to which the police replied: “It is only social media sites this time and only between the dates stated. We will leave the internet itself up and running this time.”

“Due to the extensive and repeated misuse of Facebook and other social media applications within this jurisdiction we will be blocking all Allen County access to Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Tumblr and YouTube between February 28 and March 1,” the post read. Photo: Facebook/Allen County Sheriff’s Office
“Due to the extensive and repeated misuse of Facebook and other social media applications within this jurisdiction we will be blocking all Allen County access to Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Tumblr and YouTube between February 28 and March 1,” the post read. Photo: Facebook/Allen County Sheriff’s Office

“How does this not violate the 4th. I will use my first here. Seems a totalitarian thing to do. What is the standard for excessive miss use other than you say or how you feel?” a commenter said with the police replying: “By virtue of the First Amendment. The framers of the Constituion, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence did not address social media and, as such, we have ability to do what we are doing because of the First Amendment, which comes before the Fourth.”

Allen County Sheriff’s Office was then forced to upload another post, clarifying that the original post was in fact a joke.

“You know there really is no way to stop the power of social media, right?” the wrote, alongside an image showing how there is no day between February 28 and March 1.

“We want to remind everyone, read everything you see on the internet closely,” they continued.

“Check the facts. Not everything is true no matter how good it may look.

Allen County Sheriff’s Office was then forced to upload another post, clarifying that the original post was in fact a joke. Photo/Allen County Sheriff’s Office
Allen County Sheriff’s Office was then forced to upload another post, clarifying that the original post was in fact a joke. Photo/Allen County Sheriff’s Office

“For those who fell really (and we mean REALLY) hard for this, we would ask that you reflect on the role social media plays in your life.

“We understand that many feel that they can’t live without their Facebook, SnapChat, texting, instant messaging or whatever other methods they may use.

"We encourage people to actually get out and talk to each other face to face or even with a phone call.”

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