• Yahoo, Monday, February 28, 2011 12:19 PM

By now, you may have heard the one about King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia offering to buy Facebook for $150 billion to prevent the social network from facilitating further social unrest in the Middle East. No, it's not true, but the attention the rumor generated this weekend -- making it into Iran's Tehran Times -- speaks to the surreal nature of recent world events. Indeed, who could have predicted a few years ago that Facebook would now be valued at upwards of $50 billion, and be partially responsible for overturning Middle Eastern governments, while threatening the stability of others?

"The story just isn't true," confirms Yahoo News. No, the rumor started after a Web site named DawnWires.com filed the story in its "LOL News" section, accompanies by a footer clearly stating that it was part of Dawn Wires' "Sunday Humor" series.

Read the whole story at Yahoo »