No, American adults are not getting a $500 stimulus card | Fact check
The claim: Every American over 25 is entitled to a $500 stimulus card
A June 17 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows what appears to be the results of a Google search.
“$500 Stimulus Card, is it a scam?” reads the text in the search bar.
“The answer is NO, the $500 Stimulus Card is REAL, and all Americans over 25 can apply for it," reads what appears to be the auto-generated search results. "Today is your last day to apply. All you need to do is make a quick call.”
The user who shared the post encourages other users to click a link included in the post to apply for the stimulus card.
The post was shared more than 100 times in over a month. The same image was also shared elsewhere on Facebook.
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Our rating: False
There is no evidence such a stimulus program is being offered. The link at the bottom of the post goes to a website unrelated to the claim.
No evidence of a $500 stimulus card
There is no mention of such a program for all Americans over 25 on the website for the Treasury Department, which administered stimulus programs related the COVID-19 pandemic. There is likewise no credible news reporting about the existence of such a program.
The link included in the Facebook post leads users to a 2022 opinion article published by the RAND Corporation. The article, first published by CHEST Journal, is about the Affordable Care Act and makes no mention of $500 stimulus cards.
The government did provide direct stimulus payments to citizens during the pandemic, but the last of those payments was issued in 2021, according to the Treasury Department.
There are several indications the image of the Google search result is fabricated. Google search summaries have text aligned to the left, not centered as the post text is. And more than one sentence in the paragraph is highlighted, which wouldn’t be possible in a real search – only one word or sentence can be highlighted at a time.
A Google search for the keywords in the post – “$500 Stimulus Card, is it a scam?” – currently shows a summary of a PolitiFact article debunking the claim, not the text shown in the Facebook post's image.
Legitimate programs to help Americans pay for groceries do exist, however, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
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Paste BN reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Our fact-check sources:
- Treasure Department, accessed Aug. 6, Search result
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