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 in a video (archived here) on Facebook on November 16, 2024, under the title "Claim Your 2024 Giveback Before It Ends." The caption read:
This new Giveback scheme wont last...Claim it now before it's gone for good.Tap below to claim it today.
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Wed Nov 20 14:27:50 2024 UTC)
The video shows "CBS Evening News" anchor Norah O'Donnell in front of a screen that reads "ALARMING CREDIT CARD DEBT." The voiceover says:
Urgent new $1,000 stimulus approved amid skyrocketing debt levels! In a sudden, unexpected move, a new stimulus has been rushed through in the wake of alarming credit-card debt figures. Officially launched this week, the aim of this new measure is to get $1,000 into the pockets of Americans without delay. Every U.S. resident qualifies, no exceptions. The plan is to have the money in applicants' accounts within 24 hours or less. So what this means is, no complicated forms, no red tape, and no jumping through any hoops whatsoever. However, due to the fast-tracking of this initiative, there will be no phone calls, emails or texts. What you need to do is, tap the link below, answer a few simple survey questions, and they'll send you your $1,000 stimulus card. That's all there is to it. It's yours to spend as you see fit, with no strings attached. The only rule is that you can't claim more than five per household. Tap below and claim your $1,000 stimulus card now while the funds still remain!
At the beginning of the video, O'Donnell's mouth is not moving in sync with the voiceover, suggesting the footage had been altered.
Lead Stories conducted a keyword search on Google (archived here) and found that the "CBS Evening News" had run a piece titled "Credit card debt for Americans reaches alarming level," uploaded to the program's verified Facebook page on June 9, 2023. O'Donnell is wearing the same blue dress and standing in front of the same screen -- however, the voiceover is entirely different and says nothing about a stimulus plan. In CBS News' video, O'Donnell says:
Americans are digging themselves into a deep financial hole approaching $1 trillion in credit card debt. The nation's record-high credit card debt now stands at nearly $988 billion. That's around $5,700 per person. Those between 40 and 49 years old have the most debt among all age brackets, with about $7,600 on their cards. High interest rates and inflation are adding to the problem.
The CBS News broadcast lasts 26 seconds, whereas the "giveback scheme" video runs for 1:01. This indicates that the creator of the "giveback" post manipulated the original CBS footage, grafting on an inauthentic voiceover and fleshing out the footage with stock pictures of President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris and others.
Lead Stories ran the post on Facebook through TrueMedia.org's AI detection tool, which found "substantial evidence of manipulation" in the voices (archived here).
(Source: TrueMedia screenshot taken on Wed Nov 20 18:06:40 2024 UTC)
The Internal Revenue Service did offer Americans three "economic impact payments," also known as "stimulus payments," in 2020 and 2021 to alleviate the blow of the COVID-19 pandemic (archived here). Lead Stories searched the IRS website for "credit card debt" and found no evidence of any $1,000 stimulus program in 2024 (archived here).
At the time of writing, Lead Stories did not find a link to more information about a $1,000 "giveback scheme" in the Facebook post's comments section, as promised in the caption. However, one of the commenters indicated that there had been a link to stash.com, a site that offers investment services for individuals (archived here).
The "page transparency" section of the Facebook account that posted about the "giveback scheme" says it is managed by the American Patriot Funding Group. Lead Stories ran a Google search and turned up no record of any organizations by that name (archived here).
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Wed Nov 20 18:16:31 2024 UTC)
More Lead Stories fact checks on claims related to business and finance can be found here.
