IN SHORT: Several Facebook posts claim that the Nigerian government is offering N100,000 monthly grants to all citizens. But that’s not true.
The Facebook page Grant Opportunities Today claims that the Nigerian government is giving out monthly grants of N100,000 to all Nigerians.
One of the page’s posts, dated 21 July 2024, invites interested users to “Submit Application Today” and provides a link where they can supposedly apply for the grant.
The post has received over 1,100 comments and over 46 shares.
The page’s posts have been republished here and here. (Note: See more instances listed at the end of this report.)
But is there such a grant from the government? We checked.
Engagement bait scam
We clicked on the link in the Facebook post and it took us to a dodgy looking website. According to the website, “Application Ends 7, August 2024, 11:59 PM”. It also featured a “CLICK HERE TO APPLY” button.
We clicked on the button and it took us to a site about United States visa sponsorship. There is no mention of the N100,000 grants.
This is an example of engagement bait. These social media posts ask for likes, comments or shares to increase reach without offering a reward. They can drive traffic to a website, potentially generating advertising revenue.
We also typed keywords from the post into Google to see if there had been any coverage by credible media organisations, but our search yielded no results. Such claims would have made headlines if they had been announced by the government.
To protect yourself, read our guide on how to spot scams on Facebook.
The same claim can also be found here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
For publishers: what to do if your post is rated false
A fact-checker has rated your Facebook or Instagram post as “false”, “altered”, “partly false” or “missing context”. This could have serious consequences. What do you do?
Click on our guide for the steps you should follow.
Publishers guideAfrica Check teams up with Facebook
Africa Check is a partner in Meta's third-party fact-checking programme to help stop the spread of false information on social media.
The content we rate as “false” will be downgraded on Facebook and Instagram. This means fewer people will see it.
You can also help identify false information on Facebook. This guide explains how.
Add new comment