Are Americans 25 and older in line to receive money from a government program for groceries? A viral Facebook post claims so.
“I told yall this aint no damn scam!!,” said the May 20 post that was missing punctuation. “Every American over 25 is now entitled to get a prepaid reward card up to $500 to use for groceries and everyday expenses.”
The post links to a website where it says users can claim this benefit. It also includes what looks like a screenshot of a May 9 email from “A.C.A. Official” and has a blue check mark next to it to signal authenticity.
The Facebook post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Threads, and Instagram.)
Despite the screenshot that seems to link the claim to the Affordable Care Act, we found no evidence of an authentic government program. The 2010 Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which expanded Medicaid, a federal program that helps low-income Americans pay health expenses and made it easier for people to purchase health insurance.
The post’s link leads to a website with no information about a program to get the advertised $500 prepaid reward card. Instead, the website claims to help visitors get quotes for car insurance plans. Clicking the screenshot image leads users to a different website, Trending Results, which appears to sell goods unrelated to the $500 reward card. The website’s ‘about us’ page says it is an online marketing company based in Torino, Italy.
A Google search for government press releases announcing $500 reward cards yielded no results.
There are real federal and state programs that help people pay for food, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The U.S. government warns the public about online scams, saying, “The government does not offer free money or grants to people for personal needs.” The government also urges people to report such scams to the Federal Trade Commission.
PolitiFact has checked several similar claims about nonexistent government programs that promise to help pay for groceries and other expenses.
We rate the claim that Americans over age 25 are entitled to $500 reward cards False.