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No, President-elect Donald Trump didn’t ‘expose’ a secret program offering $6,400 to every American
If Your Time is short
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False social media claims about free government money are common, often linking to sites outside official government channels. The federal government has warned against these scams.
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There is no federal program offering $6,400 for every American, and President-elect Donald Trump never claimed to expose such a program.
You won’t be able to cash in on a secret government stimulus program offering $6,400, despite what some Facebook posts claim.
A video shared Nov. 18 on Facebook claimed that President-elect Donald Trump had "exposed" that Democratic officials and President Joe Biden had hidden a federal subsidy for up to $6,400 for all Americans. The video featured footage of what appears to be Trump speaking that’s likely been altered with artificial intelligence.
The video’s audio does not sync with Trump’s mouth movements, and the mouth also moves in an unnatural way. These are all signs of deepfake videos, often made using AI.
"It’s time to expose the lies they have been hiding from you," Trump appears to say. "Because Americans deserve their $6,400 relief checks they were supposed to get months ago. These crooked liberal politicians should be ashamed of themselves for not making it public that there is $6,400 in funds for every American to claim."
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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, Instagram and Threads.)
The video directed users to a website to claim the purported relief check. The link leads not to a U.S. government website, but to a page that says "access denied." The video says users could take a "30-second quiz" on the site to receive the relief check.
Several other Facebook videos made similar claims, some using deepfake videos of Biden or podcaster Joe Rogan.
But no such relief program exists, and Trump never said he was exposing such a program.
Featured Fact-check
There are no credible news stories about a $6,400 cash subsidy program or reports of federal legislation that made the stimulus available for Americans. A Google search for "$6,400 subsidy relief check" revealed several other fact-checks of similar claims.
We’ve checked other claims that Americans qualify for government subsidy checks ranging in value from $2,400 to $16,800. The posts all linked to websites unaffiliated with the U.S. government.
The federal government has warned against these "free money" scams. The Federal Trade Commission has offered tips to spot them. Scammers make "big promises," try to look official, ask for your information or money and try to be persuasive, the commission said.
With Trump’s Nov. 5 election victory, these videos took on a new tone, but the scam is the same.
We rate the claim that "there is $6,400 in funds for every American to claim" False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, Nov. 18, 2024
Facebook post, Oct. 27, 2024
Facebook post, Nov. 20, 2024
Google search for "$6,400 subsidy relief check", accessed Nov. 22, 2024
USA.gov, Avoid "free money" from the government scams | USAGov, accessed Nov. 22, 2024
Federal Trade commission, Government Grant Scams, accessed Nov. 22, 2024
PolitiFact, How to detect deepfake videos like a fact-checker, April 19, 2024
PolitiFact, No, the government is not sending $2,400 checks if you earn less than $30 an hour, Jan. 30, 2024
PolitiFact, Promises of $16,800 payments from the U.S. government are a scam, Dec. 18, 2024
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No, President-elect Donald Trump didn’t ‘expose’ a secret program offering $6,400 to every American
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