US Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who is in charge of securing the country's nuclear arsenal, fell for an old Instagram chain hoax on Tuesday.

Usher, Megan Rapinoe, and Julia Roberts were also among a bunch of famous names to fall for it.

They reposted the same clumsily worded "legal" message about Instagram making all of its users' photos and messages public — a rehash of a hoax that dates back to at least 2012.

"If you're seeing a meme claiming Instagram is changing its rules tomorrow, it's not true," said Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram.

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An Instagram chain hoax that spread like wildfire Tuesday has caught a bunch of famous names — including one of President Donald Trump's Cabinet officials.

The chain meme features a clumsily worded "legal" message warning of a new Instagram privacy policy in which the social network will make public all of its users' photos and messages.

The message appears to be a rehash of a Facebook hoax that dates back to at least 2012, when a nearly identical warning went viral on the social network. The same message also spread in 2016.

Read more: Facebook's humbling deal with the FTC is the biggest assault on Mark Zuckerberg's power in the firm's history

Instagram won't be making anyone's messages public, but that did not stop the likes of Usher, Megan Rapinoe, Julia Roberts, and Scooter Braun from sharing the message to their millions of followers. Many have since deleted the hoax.

The incoming New York Times tech reporter Taylor Lorenz named and shamed a bunch more stars, including Judd Apatow and Julianne Moore, for sharing the message in a Twitter thread.

One person who had not deleted the hoax by Wednesday morning was Rick Perry, who serves as the energy secretary in the Trump administration. "Feel free to repost!! #nothanksinstagram," Perry wrote to his 25,000 followers. Perry's main responsibility is making sure the country's nuclear arsenal and power plants are secure.

Both the BuzzFeed tech reporter Ryan Mac and the New York Times tech reporter Mike Isaac were among those who pointed out Perry's role overseeing America's nuclear program.

Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, debunked the viral message on Twitter on Tuesday. "If you're seeing a meme claiming Instagram is changing its rules tomorrow, it's not true," he said.

The timing of the hoax is not ideal for Facebook, as Instagram's parent company is working to win back the trust of users after a sequence of high-profile privacy scandals. It's easy to see why Instagram would prefer it if household names were not spreading misinformation suggesting it was exploiting people's private photos and messages.

One star who did spot the hoax was the comedian Trevor Noah, who posted a meme mocking the fake message. "Be safe my friends. The new Instagram law is coming now!" he joked.

Be safe my friends. The new Instagram law is coming now! A post shared by Trevor Noah (@trevornoah) on Aug 20, 2019 at 3:55pm PDT Aug 20, 2019 at 3:55pm PDT

This article has been updated.