Fact Check

Bud Light 'Anniversary' Free 24-Pack Facebook Offer

Bud Light is not giving away free 24-packs of beer to Facebook users to celebrate the company's anniversary.

Published Nov. 11, 2019

Claim:
Bud Light is giving away free 24-packs of beer to Facebook users to celebrate the company's anniversary.

In November 2019, a scam was spread via Facebook purporting to offer free 24-packs of Bud Light brand beer in celebration of the company's anniversary to users who clicked particular links and then followed the instructions found there:

The scam provided links which led to web pages (not operated or sponsored by Bud Light) displaying a Bud Light logo along with entreaties to spread the scam further by sharing the pages and writing "thank you" in the comments field:

The free Bud Light offer is a variation of the company anniversary survey scam, a ploy that depends on the unwary unwittingly promoting the phony offer to their social media friends:

These web pages (which are not operated or sponsored by the companies they reference) typically ask the unwary to click what appear to be Facebook “share” buttons and post comments to the scammer’s site (which is really a ruse to dupe users into spreading the scam by sharing it with all of their Facebook friends). Those who follow such instructions are then led into a set of pages prompting them to input a fair amount of personal information (including name, age, address, and phone numbers), complete a lengthy series of surveys, and finally sign up (and commit to paying) for at least two “Reward Offers” (e.g., Netflix subscriptions, credit report monitoring services, prepaid credit cards).

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.