Nigerians Beware, There Is No 'N475,000 Federal Government Grant By Central Bank' - These Facebook Posts Are Engagement Bait

25 July 2024
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Semilore Adelola

Nigerians beware, there is no 'N475,000 federal government grant by central bank' - these Facebook posts are engagement bait

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.

Read the original story, with links and other resources.
Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. Twitter @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org

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