Facebook created in 1902

[snopes]

Comment: This is the newest thing going around Facebook. What do you think,
is it legit?

I'm dubious. It does come from this group, so I also find it doubtful that they'd make this up.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Buffa...ty/35507276870

[Mateus]

Originally Posted by snopes

Comment: This is the newest thing going around Facebook. What do you think,
is it legit?

Library of Congress records say that the Buffalo Daily Courier ran from 1846-1888, but that there was a Weekly Courier from 1849-1917, and a Courier from 1888-1926.

The typeface, the prose style, and the laurel border along the top suggest to me something older than the 1900s, however (I base this on very limited personal experience, though).

Also, it seems that there are a few surviving editions scattered across the Northeast, and a lot more on microfilm, but no digital archives yet.

[Ariadne]

It appears to be a real wire story from c. 1902. A Google search for the headline turns up an illustrated version of the article from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, 24 August 1902.

I also found a similar article from the Wisconsin Weekly Advocate, dated 25 September 1902. The headline differs, but the text of the article is the same as the OP.

ETA: A Google search also turns up this from a Portland newspaper (search the text for "face book").

[BrianB]

New York Times article dated 1 May 2009:

Bryan Benilous, a historical newspaper specialist at the digital-archive company Proquest, said he and his colleagues came across a Boston Daily Globe article from August 24, 1902, titled, "Face Book The New Fad," describing a party game where revelers sketch out cartoony caricatures for fun.

Brian