A story circulating online in June 2026 claimed that police arrested a woman in Memphis, Tennessee, named Tammy Sue Pickens, after she reportedly listed her husband for sale on Facebook Marketplace. The alleged listing offered him for $100 or best offer.
Posts on platforms like X, Facebook, and Threads shared this narrative, often accompanied by what appeared to be a mug shot of the woman. The story detailed that the listing for Tammy Sue Pickens’s husband, Ricky Dale Pickens, garnered over 1,200 messages and attracted at least three marriage proposals. It further stated that authorities intervened after Tammy Sue Pickens began compiling a “Potential New Owners” spreadsheet.
However, this account is fabricated. The story originated from a Facebook user, Cliff Messer, who indicated his posts were satire. He first shared the tale on June 12, including a satire hashtag at the end of his post.
Searches of major search engines did not yield any reports from news organizations about such an arrest involving a Tammy Pickens attempting to sell her husband online. Local news outlets would likely have covered such an unusual event if it had occurred. A reverse image search of the purported mug shot only led to reposts of the fictional story, not official records.
Messer’s Facebook page contains other fictional stories about Memphis residents, often accompanied by images that exhibit characteristics common in AI-generated visuals, such as unnaturally smooth skin.
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