WATCH: Parents of hoax facebook post victim speak out

A Ballivor mother has spoken of her shock and disgust after a hoax facebook post was put up about her son claiming he had burgled and assaulted an elderly woman.

The post was completely fabricated but went viral and Sue Davis is still fearful for her 16-year-old son Daniel who has received several threats in the wake of the post.

The fake news post showed a photo of Daniel and claimed he had burgled the home of an elderly woman in Kinnegad with an associate on 31st October.  It claimed they assaulted her when they got no money or jewellery in the house before leaving in a Seat Leon car. It asked people to report any sightings of Daniel or any information on the incident to Trim Garda Station.

 

The  fake news post that was posted by Daniel's friend as a prank

 

It was posted by Daniel's friend as a joke but had horrific repercussions with Daniel's parents receiving several threatening calls. His mother is petrified that he is going to be attacked or worse for what he supposedly did, even though he did nothing wrong. She said many people did not realise it was a hoax and has shared a video highlighting the impact of such pranks to facebook and wants people to know that her son did nothing wrong.

 The video uploaded by Daniel's parents to highlight the impact cruel pranks like this can have

 

'I was dumbfounded. I was shocked, sickened and emotional,' said Sue, who found out what happened the next day when a friend called her to warn her what had been posted and that it was a hoax.

The video shows Sue, her son Daniel, his friend who posted the fake post and his friend's dad. In the video, Sue talks about what a severe impact it had and how a child can be 'slated for something he didn't do'. She also spoke about how worried she is that something is going to happen to her son and wants to highlight the impact these posts can have.