Did a court rule that all female victims of gender discrimination by Costco can receive a $500 grocery credit from the membership warehouse club? No, that's not true: There is no evidence that Costco is giving out $500 credits to anyone. Costco's fraud prevention page also discourages shoppers from clicking on ads that request survey participation, as they may thereby download dangerous computer viruses.
The claim appeared on Facebook on January 27, 2023. The post reads:
Cоstcо discriminated women for years! Cоurt ruled all women victims can pick up 500﹩ grocery credit! Complete 3 questions to collect
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
The post does not specify what alleged discrimination female shoppers faced while in Costco and does not list a court case for further information. Clicking the banner below the picture leads users to a page entitled "Loyalty Program." This page does not mention anything about discrimination or a court case but instead says the current user has been "chosen" to participate in a survey.
This is what the page looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Tue Jan 31 15:28:13 2023 UTC)
A Google News search of "Costco female discrimination $500 grocery credit" yielded no relevant results. A reverse image search of the picture seen in the Facebook post yielded no results either. However, images of the pile of food without the woman on the left led to a Facebook page (example of search here) not associated with Costco. Lead Stories also checked Costco's official website and their verified Facebook page. Neither showed any information about this opportunity or mentioned a court case.
The root of the URL of this page leads to a recipe website titled Nora Cooks, not Costco's official website.
Costco's customer service website warns against pop-up advertisements. This Facebook post could be seen as a pop-up ad:
Some advertisements 'pop up' in a separate browser window advising that you have won a contest or request that you participate in a survey to collect a prize. They may then ask that you provide personal information in order to receive your gift. By clicking on the link it is possible that you are also downloading viruses designed to capture or destroy information on your computer.
We have contacted Costco and will update this article with any relevant response.
The claim about supposed $500 Costco grocery credits resembles alleged Target and Walmart "surveys" Lead Stories debunked, as well as a claim that Lowe's was giving away KitchenAid mixers as part of a court settlement of gender discrimination.
