No, you won’t get free groceries from Aldi for sharing a Facebook post

A Facebook message falsely claimed the grocery store chain Aldi will deliver bags of free food to customers who help spread the word about the offer.

The Feb. 15 message, shared on a Facebook page called ALDI Fans, purported to be from Jason Hart, saying he’s the new president of the company and that he wants to start his job with "good charity for everyone." and was.

"We will be doing something special for everyone who shares + comments on February 20th because we know last year was difficult for many of you," the post said. "Everyone who does this will each receive a bag full of family necessities such as biscuits, turkey, potatoes, and more for $750. (Next day delivery)."

The message also said $500 vouchers would be placed in 100 random bags.  

The ALDI Fans page then asked Facebook users to share Hart’s message with seven other groups on the site in order to qualify for the giveaway.

The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

The giveaway is a scam, and the Facebook page that shared the post has no affiliation with Aldi. An Aldi official told PolitiFact the offer is not real, and that any announcement would come from the company’s verified Facebook page.

The Aldi Fans Facebook page contains several red flags that make it clear it has no affiliation with the company.

The page was created on Dec. 22, 2021, but the only post is the one announcing the giveaway. It also lacks a blue check mark next to its name, which is used by Facebook to show that a page has been verified as an official account of a company or public figure.   

Facebook’s transparency section for the page lists it as being managed from Indonesia, where the Germany-based company has no stores. An archived version of the post also appears to show the post’s language was originally Indonesian.

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Hart is not the "new president" of Aldi. He has been CEO of Aldi’s U.S. operation since 2015. The message itself also contains several typos.

Aldi shoppers were targeted by a similar scam in 2020, when a separate Facebook page claimed to have a message from Hart announcing the company was giving away free boxes of food for Christmas, according to the "Today" show website.

A message shared on a Facebook page claimed that grocery chain Aldi would give away free bags of food to users who share the post with other people.

An Aldi official said the post was not a real promotion, and the page has no affiliation with the company.

The page contains several indicators that it’s fake, including the lack of a verification badge, a misidentification of the company’s CEO, and an account manager based in a country where Aldi has no presence.

We rate this claim Pants on Fire.