Costco in Hagerstown Maryland Social Media Post is Engagement Farming, Not Real News

A recent social media post falsely announcing the arrival of a Costco store in Hagerstown, Maryland, has been exposed as a fabrication, according to our research. The claims, which circulated widely and generated significant public interest, have been debunked by evidence pointing to a “find and replace” hoax originating from a different city. The post, attributed to a Facebook page named “Maryland News Network,” has prompted scrutiny and highlighted the prevalence of misinformation online.

Updated 12/23/2025 5:06 PM to clarify that the page in question is not associated with the real Maryland News Network radio network.

The core of the deception lies in the names and locations cited in the fake announcement. The purported city officials mentioned, Tim Eriksen as Public Works Director and Sage Sangiacomo as City Manager, are in fact real individuals holding those exact positions in Ukiah, California. Furthermore, a street named Airport Park Boulevard, mentioned as a potential site for the new store, is a known location in Ukiah, California, where a Costco had been a subject of discussion years prior. This evidence strongly suggests the post was created by altering an existing news story from Ukiah, California, and substituting “Hagerstown” for the original city name.

In contrast, the actual leadership of Hagerstown, Maryland, features different individuals. Scott Nicewarner serves as the City Administrator, and Eric Deike is the Director of Public Works. The absence of any corresponding information on Costco’s official “Coming Soon” page further corroborates that the announcement is not legitimate. Furthermore, reaching out to Maryland Media One, who runs the real Maryland News Network radio network, we were able to verify that the Maryland News Network Facebook page is not legitimate or associated with the Maryland Media One business.

The strategy behind such fabricated posts is often referred to as “engagement farming,” similar to previous incidents such as the claims of a Hagerstown Buc-ee’s. By leveraging the high demand and public excitement for a Costco in Hagerstown, the creators of the fake news post aimed to generate rapid shares, comments, and followers. Social media algorithms tend to favor content with high engagement, thereby enabling pages to quickly build a substantial audience. Once a significant following is established, the page owner can then monetize the audience through various means, such as selling merchandise, promoting products, or displaying advertisements, or potentially sell the account to another party. This particular hoax exemplifies how easily misinformation can spread online, capitalizing on public desire for specific developments. This specific page, Maryland News Network, mixes engagement farming with real news, making it extremely difficult for residents to tell the difference, and does not even appear to be a legitimate business in the State of Maryland.

If the names in an announcement like this don’t match the city officials you’re familiar with, dig deeper.

Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from Radio Free Hub City’s investigation including the Costco website and City of Hagerstown website.

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