News
Financial News Fact Check: No $600 Bonus for Social Security Recipients This Month
While Google Discover offers a convenient way to access a news feed tailored to your interests, users should be aware that not all content included in these feeds is accurate. Content creators, driven by profit rather than an interest in informing the public, are infiltrating the algorithm with clickbait and fake news.
A disturbing trend emerges when examining the articles populating Google Discover on finance-related topics. Among the reputable news is a series of articles selling fake tax credits and benefit programs.
The dangers of misinformation on Google Discover
For beneficiaries of federal programs, such as Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or SNAP, Any news about possible changes that could affect your benefits, whether positive or negative, is extremely important. Exploiting this vulnerability and interest, some media outlets publish fake stories with headlines that are sure to attract attention. Google’s inability to filter these stories means they continue to proliferate, potentially causing confusion and anxiety for beneficiaries when what they are looking for is credible information about the status of their benefits.
In recent weeks, some articles that have been promoted on Google Discover include: “Social Security benefit increase in June: Retirees will receive an extra $600” and Tododisca “Pension changes value for retirees and disability beneficiaries in June.”
The tactics used by these outlets to attract readers
Both La Grada and Tododisca are English versions of Spanish news sites. However, there are others that readers should also be aware of, as their tactics are equally deceptive. Yahoo! News also drew attention to two other vehicles, Marca and Times Now, who spread false stories about an $8,700 tax credit millions could supposedly claim from the IRS. In reality, the media combined the value of the enhanced Child Tax Credit approved under the American Savings Plan and the stimulus checks sent by the federal government in 2020 and 2021 to create a fake super credit.
SSA confirms claims that additional $600 payment will be sent in June are false
As for La Grada’s claim that some Social Security beneficiaries will receive an additional $600 check this month, This news is completely false. Additionally, after the first paragraph, details of the $600 payment are never provided. After seeing articles like this and the confusion it caused, Social Office of Inspector General of the Security Administration issued a rare statement clarifying that the news was false and that no additional payment of this size would be sent. “Scammers are circulating misinformation about a false $600 Social Security benefit increase that they claim will be issued in June 2024,” the SSA reported, adding that “any information about a current $600 increase is false and should be ignored.”
La Grada took advantage of the press release from SSA Inspector General and published two articles about the ‘$600 payment rumor:’
In none of these articles does the vehicle issue a correction or come close to admitting that it was one of the agencies that broke these false stories in the first place.
The confusion continues…
Meanwhile, the website continued to push misleading stories that are sure to attract the attention of beneficiaries, such as “Return of $943 Social Security Payment: New Payment Date Announced in July.” When reading this headline, one might assume that a program is being restarted and that more money will arrive in your bank accounts next month. In reality, by “returned,” La Grada means that SSI program beneficiaries will receive their monthly benefit in July. The title is also misleading because $943 is the maximum payment available to SSI recipients, but very few individuals qualify for a check of that amount. In April 2024the average benefit amount for SSI was $697.
Furthermore, another misleading aspect of the article appears in the last section under the heading “Double Social Security payment confirmed for August.” For many reading this, a double payment would mean an additional payment on top of what they would normally receive, not for La Grada. They are using the term “double payment” to describe that because September 1st falls on a weekend, SSI beneficiaries will receive two payments in August, as the September payment will be issued on Friday the 30th. of August. Although two payments will be made in August, no benefits will be sent in September, meaning no additional money will be sent beyond what has already been received by beneficiaries. Creating an area of fear around the lack of payments in September will likely be another angle that La Grada and other similar media outlets will use to attract readers to their page.