**FAKE NEWS ALERT**
**Headline:** FBI Issues Urgent Alert: Delete Microsoft Outlook and OneDrive Immediately – Government-Wide Cyberattack Warning Issued
**The Rumor:** A viral post circulating on social media claims the FBI has issued a "Level Red" cybersecurity bulletin ordering all U.S. citizens and federal employees to uninstall Microsoft Outlook and OneDrive apps by midnight. The post alleges that a Chinese state-sponsored backdoor has been discovered in the latest software update, allowing hackers to "read, edit, and delete" all government emails and personal files stored in the cloud from outside the country.
**THE VERDICT: FALSE.**
**Why It’s Fake:**
- **No Official Source:** The FBI has not issued any such bulletin. The official FBI Cyber Division website, CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency), and Microsoft’s Security Response Center have no record of this alert.
- **No Zero-Day Exploit Confirmed:** While Microsoft regularly patches vulnerabilities, there is no current CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) linked to a "backdoor" in standard Outlook or OneDrive consumer or enterprise versions that would warrant such a drastic action.
- **The "Scare Script" Warning:** The post’s language uses typical viral scare tactics—urgent "midnight deadline," vague government-wide implications, and a demand to immediately delete software rather than update it. Legitimate security alerts advise updating software, not uninstalling critical communication tools.
- **Past Hoax Pattern:** This rumor repackages an old 2023 hoax about "Google Drive and Gmail infected" and attaches it to Microsoft products, capitalizing on recent news about Chinese-linked attacks on government networks (which were targeted, not consumer-focused, and were patched months ago).
**What’s Actually True:**
CISA and the FBI did issue a joint advisory in late 2023 about Chinese state-sponsored hacking groups targeting U.S. government email