MENLO PARK, CA - To encourage more responsible posting during a deadly pandemic, Facebook has announced it will attach warnings to any posts expressing hope, optimism, confidence, or good cheer until the virus threat has passed. 

"In light of recent reckless statements by the President, we believe expressing any sort of optimism to be completely irresponsible during this deadly time," said Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. "If we allow our users to feel any sense of hope, they may let their guard down. Worse, they may even take off their masks!"

Starting this week, all Facebook posts that show any hint of confidence that everything is going to be OK will be labeled with a "potential false hope" warning, and friends will be prompted to confirm that they really want to share such things during a pandemic.

According to sources, exceptions will be made for Joe Biden's Facebook account since any hope he shares is without malarkey and totally reliable.

"Here at Facebook we are proud to be on the cutting edge of safety and security," said Zuckerberg. "Everything's gonna be OK, we promise."