A post is being shared on social media claiming that US multinational retail corporation Walmart is offering unique gift bags to people to celebrate its 51st anniversary. This post asks users to write ‘Done’ in the comment section to grab the unique gift bag from Walmart. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Walmart is offering unique gift bags to celebrate its 51st anniversary.
Fact: The first Walmart store was opened on 02 July 1962, in Arkansas state of the United States of America. So, it would be the 61st anniversary of Walmart in 2023. Walmart did not announce any such free gifts on the occasion of its anniversary. Walmart spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that the social media pages and posts announcing gift cards in the name of Walmart are fake. Hence, the claim made in the post is False.
When we searched to check whether the US retail giant Walmart had announced any such offers ahead of its anniversary, we could not find any such announcements on the official website and social media handles of Walmart. Many other users have also published similar posts attributing to the Walmart. But none of these users including the one who shared the post, are affiliated in any way with Walmart.
The first Walmart store was opened on 02 July 1962, in Arkansas state of the United States of America. Walmart completed its 60th anniversary in 2022 itself. Walmart will complete its 61st anniversary in July 2023. So, the claims about Walmart now providing gifts for its 51st anniversary are completely baseless.
Walmart on their official website warned people about social media scams offering gift cards and other offers in the name of Walmart. In 2021, when similar anniversary giveaway posts were attributed to Walmart on social media, a Walmart spokesperson issued a clarification to Reuters stating that the pages and posts offering gift cards for its 60th anniversary are all false. Further, the Walmart spokesperson said, “Our digital team is working on getting this page and false information down as soon as possible”.
FACTLY had earlier debunked similar fake offers that were attributed to different companies.
- This purported KFC promotional message offering free coupons as part of its anniversary celebrations is fake
- Flipkart is not offering free Mi-11 Lite mobile phones on its 15th anniversary
- Cadbury is not offering a free basket of chocolates to celebrate its 196th anniversary
- Website offering free gift cards on 20th anniversary of D-Mart is fake
- Fraudulent websites in the name of ‘SBI’ and ‘Amul’ claim to gift money on their anniversary
- Fraudulent website URL is being shared in the name of Tata group’s 150th anniversary contest
- ‘Honda’ is not giving away 372 free ‘Activa 5G’ Scooters on its 72nd Anniversary
- This purported ‘HAP’ website conducting an online survey for gifting 6000 rupees is a fraudulent one
- This purported ‘Rolex’ website conducting an online contest for luxury gift watches is a fraudulent one
To sum it up, these anniversary giveaway messages attributed to different companies are fake.