IN SHORT: Several posts on Facebook claim that the Nigerian government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria, is giving out N475,000 grants. These are engagement bait posts and should be disregarded.
“₦475,000 FG grant by CBN. Application ends next week. Submit your details today,” reads a post on Facebook.
The post features a screenshot of a bank notification that appears to show a payment of N475,000 (about US$300). It also includes a link to a website where interested users can supposedly apply.
CBN stands for the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The same post has been republished here, here and here. (Note: See more instances listed at the end of this report.)
But is the Nigerian government giving out N475,000 grants? We checked.
Ignore engagement bait posts
One of the signs that the claim may be false is the lack of detail. The post doesn't say why the government is giving out this grant or who is eligible.
If there was such a grant from the government and the CBN, it would have been reported in the media. But we found no reports of it.
We also checked the central bank’s website and social media platforms for such an announcement, but came up empty.
When we clicked on the link in the post, it led us to a website about United States visa sponsorship and job opportunities. There is no mention of the Nigerian government, the CBN or the N475,000 grant. We would expect the link to take us to an official government website where we could find out more about the grant and how to apply.
This is a clear example of engagement bait. These are social media posts that ask people to like, comment or share a message. This increases the reach of the post, but there is no reward. These posts also drive traffic to the website, which can generate advertising revenue.
To protect yourself, read our guide on how to spot scams on Facebook.
The same claim can 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