Did rapper Lil Wayne endorse a health allowance card in an online promotion? No, that's not true: Lil Wayne, who purportedly backed the plan, did not post such an endorsement on his official social media channels. The claim that the government is freely giving out health benefits worth thousands of dollars is a scam. Such scams are usually attached to a promotional video asking whether a person needs federal assistance or insurance.
A version of the claim originated in a 1:05-minute video (archived here) shared on Facebook on November 3, 2023, with a caption that read:
They're hiding this from you just like everything else...
Below is how the post appeared at the time of this publication:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken Weds Nov 8 09:05:32 UTC 2023)
The video above showed Lil Wayne's face for three seconds before jumping to a voiceover laid over generic footage. Narration by a voice that sounded similar to Lil Wayne's did not match the movement of his mouth in the brief clip.
The narration, matched by onscreen text, said:
It's Wheezy in the house. Now's your chance to load your account with another stimulus check until November 10th. The state's throwing a major blessing our way with a fat $6,400 health allowance card and they're filling it up with that green every first of the month 'cause of recent happenings.
The onscreen text accompanying the voiceover misspelled the name "Wheezy," who is another rapper. Lil Wayne, whose birth name is Dwayne Michael Carter, goes by "Weezy."
The video also included a link that led to the website totalbenefitsnow.com that, when clicked, redirected to another website with the URL carerewardsplus.com. Neither of these websites are affiliated with the U.S. government nor represent genuine offerings.
Lead Stories reported on the health card benefit scam in August 2023, and have debunked other similar claims in the months since. At the time, our newsroom searched through the federal government's benefits website and determined that there was no credible evidence to support such claims, writing that:
The companies behind such webpages typically are trying to advertise some sort of federal assistance guidance or insurance service to users. The federal government has warned Americans that it 'does not offer 'free money' and that such claims are often scams.
As of November 2023, the above information was still accurate.
Lead Stories also reviewed Lil Wayne's official social media accounts (X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook). As of November 8, 2023, the celebrity had not shared such endorsements or videos on his platforms.
Lead Stories has debunked similar scams in the fact checks found here.
