Information from Factcheck.org
In response to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government sent three payments to eligible individuals. In March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act provided $1,200; $600 was provided as part of a December 2020 relief measure; and $1,400 was sent under the US rescue plansigned in March 2021 by President Joe Biden.
Some legislators have advocated for the fourth round of stimulus payments that would provide relief until the pandemic is over. But another round of payments has not been approved.
Yet some high-traffic social media posts use an 11-month-old video of White House press secretary Jen Psaki to falsely claim that direct deposits are being made to “eligible Americans” in the United States. next days.
On January 31, a Facebook account called Care First Homes, a page apparently targeting seniors, shared a post that included an 11-second video of PSAKI talking about stimulus checks being sent to eligible Americans by direct deposit, as well as a video clip of Biden signing a document.
“It was on the news last night. My good friend also called me earlier this morning and told me the wonderful news for those of us on Medicare. All I have done is enter my zip code to confirm my health insurance details and now I get $2880. It only took 65 seconds! Please enter zip code,” read the caption to Care First Homes’ post. , who boasts of his “On“page it provides”[i]insane techniques to save everyone money.
The post contains hundreds of comments, including questionable comments that were apparently made up to help drive traffic. “I just entered my zip code and received confirmation that my $2880 is on the way. Thank you,” one commenter noted. Most reviewers simply typed in their postcode.
On the same day, a Facebook page called Homes Points posted the same video with a caption that declared it “wonderful news for drivers”.
House points, includingOnThe section on Facebook says, “Incredible ways to start saving money,” shared the video February 1. This time, the following text was embedded in the video:
“It was announced on the TV channel last night. My close friend also called me this morning and told me the wonderful news for drivers. All I did was take the quiz and confirm my driving details and now I get $675. Just hit learn more and take the short quiz!”
But the clip of psaki featured in the posts is actually from March 11, 2021, just after Biden sign the US Bailout Act. The posts use the old clip to falsely claim that direct deposits are being made again this year.
The Care First Homes and Homes Points website addresses are identical. web pages who claim to have “The Best Ways to Save Money”. The pages, which each include a “contact us” link, appear to be aimed at soliciting new business.
The Care First Homes Facebook post, which mentions Health Insurance, targets seniors. The Facebook post Homes Points, which refers to “driving details,” uses images of young couples on its Facebook page and appears aimed at millennials.
Website addresses for Dots Houses and Care First Homes are registered by Namecheap Inc., a Accredited by ICANN registrar who provided an address in Iceland, according to ICANN Domain Registration Search Tool. (ICANN is a non-profit corporation which oversees the internet.) The customer of both websites is written for privacy, which is not unusual.
Namecheap Inc. is the same company that registered the website address of a company that published a webpage disguised as a CNN article to promote the sale of cannabidiol gummies, an edible form of a chemical found in marijuana. (To learn more, see our article “Fake article falsely links Dr. Sanjay Gupta to CBD products. »
Editor’s Note: FactCheck.org is one of many organizations work with facebook demystify misinformation shared on social networks. Our previous stories can be found here. Facebook has no control on our editorial content.
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