Did Walmart announce it would shut down stores for in-person shopping on November 1, 2025, due to the expected lapse in federal funding of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program? No, that's not true: Lead Stories found no credible sources saying that. As of this writing, the company's website continued to advertise multiple in-person November deals.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on October 25, 2025, under the title:
Walmart said yall can SNAP from the parking lot this time.
The description of the video read:
Breaking news just in -- Walmart said not today, baby! November 1st, they locking them doors like Fort Knox. You can order online, but don't even think about stepping inside! #Walmart #BreakingNews #SNAP#news#foryou
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of post at tiktok.com/@zttvstbdh1)
The voice-over mimicking a news report continued:
Breaking news, Walmart has made a major decision ahead of the expected SNAP benefit chaos, starting November 1, all Walmart stores will close their doors to in-person shoppers. Only employees will be allowed inside, while customers will have to shop online or use curbside pickup. The company's message to shoppers is clear: Do your shopping before November 1, because you won't be coming in here with that mess. According to internal discussions circulating online, Walmart wants to avoid possible disorder when food assistance benefits run out. Management reportedly stated they have no time for that and will temporarily restrict in-store access to ensure employee safety and maintain order. Customers are encouraged to place their orders online and pick them up outside (those slight delays are expected due to high demand for many). This move signals that Walmart is taking a strong stand, preventing chaos before it starts. As one viral post summed it up: Walmart said, 'Not today, not tomorrow!' Doors stay locked until January, whether you see it as a smart safety step or an overreaction, one thing is certain: Walmart is drawing a firm line ahead of the SNAP crisis. Drop your comments!
No such announcement on the company's pages
Had Walmart, the largest retailer in the U.S., planned to close all or many of its stores for several months, it would be reasonable to expect the company would try to inform the public through the company's pages, but Lead Stories didn't find such an announcement either on the Walmart website (archived here), or the company's corporate page or Walmart's accounts on X.
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of Walmart's corporate website)
The most recent, as of this writing, Walmart press release (archived here), issued on October 27, 2025, said nothing about an upcoming closure - contrary to the claim, it discussed Black Friday events between November 14 and December 1, 2025.
Searches on Google News (archived here) and Yahoo News (archived here) showed no credible media reporting corroborating the claim from social media.
Random paperwork from Canada
The video did not even show a direct quote. What seemed to be an announcement from the company's corporate communications department seen in the screenshot above was a letter to a person named "Lucas Gasparini", who, as the correspondence goes, was engaged in conduct concerning both content for YouTube and the absence of consent from Walmart's employees to be mentioned in it. The same letter explicitly says that the location of the incident or a series of incidents was not the U.S. -- it was the Greater Toronto Area. The text additionally mentioned a legal action against "Lucas Gasparini" and a potential penalty whose amount of $50,000 was displayed in Canadian, not American dollars.
Their biggest hits were their fake employee pranks where they would pose as staff at big-name stores like Walmart while acting outrageously -- usually rudely -- towards customers. These videos quickly racked up millions of views on YouTube with youth audiences.
