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Viral Facebook posts celebrating Winston-Salem police officers' good deeds are false, police say

The acts of kindness posted by the "North Carolina Breaking News" Facebook page happened years ago in different states, police said.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Two viral posts lauding the good deeds of Winston-Salem policemen are false, the Winston-Salem Police Department said. 

"While the Winston-Salem Police Department applauds the respective law enforcement officers and agencies for the good work, it is apparent the stories were altered to include Winston-Salem Police Department involvement," WSPD said in a release Monday morning.

Late last week, two posts from a Facebook page called "North Carolina Breaking News" went viral. Winston-Salem police said both stories actually happened in different states and years earlier.

The North Carolina Breaking News Facebook page posted the first on February 14, 2020. It tells the story of a man named LaVonte Dell, claiming to have been pulled over by a Winston-Salem police officer named Joshua Johnson. The post says Johnson purchased a car seat for Dell instead of writing him a ticket. 

North Carolina Breaking News' account claimed to have spoken with Johnson at the Winston-Salem Police Department the previous day:

Credit: WFMY News 2

The thing is, the Winston-Salem Police Department says they don't have an Officer Joshua Johnson, and no one was ever interviewed for the story on February 13, 2020. WSPD says the post isn't true. 

The North Carolina Breaking News' False Facebook Post:

SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIORS SABOTAGED HICKORY POLICE PARKING LOT WITH NA... ILS ON VALENTINES DAY More than 50 nails found in Hickory PD parking lot leave dozens of tires flat HICKORY, N.C. - Police in Hickory are trying to figure out who left nails in the police department's parking lot, leaving several vehicles with flat tires.

After investigating, officials said North Carolina Breaking News' post is based on a real story that happened years ago in another state.

A police officer in Michigan in the Westland Police Department named Joshua Scaglione did, in fact, purchase a car seat for a man in need. The story was covered by ABC News in 2016:

The cop said sometimes it's better to help rather than issue a ticket. - -- A Michigan father wants people to know "there are still real-life superheroes in this world" after a police officer's random act of kindness recently brought him to tears.

The second viral story follows a familiar tune. North Carolina Breaking News' Facebook page posted a story lauding the exploits of "Winston-Salem police officer Josh Smith" claiming Officer Smith helped an injured dog.

SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIORS SABOTAGED HICKORY POLICE PARKING LOT WITH NA... ILS ON VALENTINES DAY More than 50 nails found in Hickory PD parking lot leave dozens of tires flat HICKORY, N.C. - Police in Hickory are trying to figure out who left nails in the police department's parking lot, leaving several vehicles with flat tires.

Winston-Salem police confirmed the story is not factual. The Facebook post is based on details of a different real Facebook post from December 16, 2018. Osceola County Sheriff's Office in Florida shared this story about their deputy named Josh Fiorelli, officials said.

We had another successful active shooter training. A great time shar... ing important information with outstanding members of our community. Since 2017, the Active Shooter Presentation has provided free-of-charge, an interactive learning experience to non-profit, social and religious organizations throughout Osceola County.

Both posts received more than 30,000 shares.

Winston-Salem police said it reported the "North Carolina Breaking News" page to Facebook after officials attempted to reach out to the page's administrators and were met with responses in Russian.

The North Carolina Breaking News page has more than 50,000 followers. The page is listed as a "Satire/Parody" account in its "About" section.

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