Stimulus

Has the Trump administration proposed payment of a 2025 economic stimulus check to Americans, as multiple social media posts claim? No, that's not true: Viral social media posts circulating in February 2025 built traffic by spreading the rumor that stimulus checks of up to $8,000 were soon to be distributed. But there is no public record of President Donald Trump…

Did the U.S. government announce new cost-of-living stimulus or "DOGE" dividends to Americans as of March 10, 2025? No, that's not true: These are a long-running series of false posts that use false benefit claims to convince internet users to go to non-government websites that ask for personal information, using various tactics common to scams. A video in the post…

Did President-elect Donald Trump announce $6,400 "relief checks" that "any American can qualify for"? No, that's not true: A video on Facebook showing Trump announcing the checks is a deepfake. A link in the post did not direct users to an official government website but rather to a health insurance webpage. As of this publication, the government had not announced…

Did President-elect Donald Trump announce during a podcast interview with Joe Rogan that Americans could "claim their $6,400 relief checks" as of November 25, 2024? No, that's not true: The post saying this used altered audio with a real video of a Trump interview on the Joe Rogan show. There was no mention of a "relief" check in the real,…

Did President Joe Biden announce "emergency" $6,400 stimulus checks in November 2024? No, that's not true: An online search found no such announcement from Biden, the U.S. Department of the Treasury or the Internal Revenue Service. Those two government agencies administered three earlier stimulus programs. The claim appeared in a video post on Facebook (archived here) on November, 20, 2024,…

Was it reported in November 2024 that every American was eligible for a $1,000 stimulus check to help combat skyrocketing credit card debt? No, that's not true: The government made no such announcement. An AI detector found substantial evidence that the voice track of a video saying so on social media is the product of artificial intelligence. The claim appeared…

Does a homemade concoction made of boiled citrus fruits, root vegetables and herbs prevent COVID-19? No, that's not true: An infectious disease expert told Lead Stories that "there's absolutely no evidence that this will work," and there is no verified scientific study confirming the effectiveness of such a mixture in preventing a person from contracting the virus. He recommended that…

Did former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama appear in a video promotion for a federal program giving out monthly $5,600 health spending cards to spend on bills, gas, groceries or "anything else you can think of"? No, that's not true: A video of Michelle Obama taken from a BBC interview has been altered with a fake voiceover that sounds like…

Could a call to a hotline number expedite receiving a "stimulus deposit" in November 2023? No, that's not true: The federal government was not distributing such payments as of this writing. The toll-free number shared on social media was a sex hotline, not a contact of a federal agency. The claim reappeared in a post on Facebook on November 29,…

Will 10 states be issuing a fourth round of IRS stimulus checks on November 30, 2023? No, that's not true: There is no 2023 federal tax benefit stimulus program from the IRS nor are all the states listed in a social media post issuing their own stimulus checks. Virginia will be issuing rebate checks to eligible taxpayers before November 30,…