Though Facebook has already denied rumors about the alleged March 15, 2012 shutdown, there are reports based on alleged FB insiders that the “shutdown issue” is real.

Earlier, it was reported by certain J.B. Smitts, that Facebook was going to close down on March 15th because Mark Zuckerberg wanted to return to a normal life.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg hastily reacted and publicly denied the rumors, saying, “Facebook is not going to close down.  Not now, not ever.  We’re just getting started.”

Another FB executive, David Ebersman, the CFO of Facebook, and the man working with Goldman Sachs on the new Facebook financing deal said, “many people feel that the deal with Goldman Sachs will lead to a change in Facebook or that we might shut down so that the government won’t force us to go public.  All of those rumors are false.  We are going to be stronger than ever after March 15th.”

But there are reports that the  insiders at Facebook strongly contradict the public statements of the executive management team.

FB insiders say the company is already making plans on how to handle the big shutdown.  “We can’t just turn it off on March 15th of 2012.  There will be a revolution,” said one insider.  “We have to prepare our users for the end of Facebook and offer them ways to keep their social networks alive.”

Zuckerberg maintains that one year is enough time for users to prepare for the demise of Facebook.  It also gives rival sites time to build up their user base.

There were rumors that Zuckerberg himself was going to appear on the Oscars on February 27th, when The Social Network is sure to win Best Picture of the Year Award.   New rumors are that Zuckerberg will make “an important announcement to the world” about the future of Facebook when he meets with President Obama in the White House on June 15th.

Due to these rumors and reports about FB’s shutdown, an online petition was started to help persuade Zuckerberg and Facebook to remain open.

The organizer of the “Please Do Not Shut Down Facebook Petition”, Fritz Barnkopf, said, “we hope to get a million or more signatures, so Mark Zuckerberg will reconsider his tragic decision.”

Read more about this story: Facebook Ends on 2012