Fact Check

Is Walmart Closing 'Every Store' This Year?

There's no requirement that clickbait ads accurately represent the content they advertise.

Published Feb. 28, 2021

RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 03: Shopping carts sit in front of a Walmart store on September 03, 2020 in Richmond, California. Walmart has announced plans to launch Walmart Plus delivery service to compete with Amazon Prime. The $98 per year service will offer free delivery of food and items available from nearby stores. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Image Via Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Claim:
Walmart is closing "every store" this year.

A commonly-appearing clickbait ad suggests that Walmart is shutting down completely:

Given that Walmart is one of the world's largest companies, this would indeed be big news if it appeared anywhere other than on a block of links that exist solely for the purpose of generating low-quality ad revenue.

Clicking the link takes you to a completely unrelated 26-page slideshow story about "Stores That Are Closing Locations Across The Country." This article does not, in fact, mention Walmart once.

Because Walmart has no plans to close all of their stores, the implication made by this clickbait ad is "False."

Snopes debunks a wide range of content, and online advertisements are no exception. Misleading ads often lead to obscure websites that host lengthy slideshow articles with lots of pages. It's called advertising "arbitrage." The advertiser's goal is to make more money on ads displayed on the slideshow's pages than it cost to show the initial ad that lured them to it. Feel free to submit ads to us, and be sure to include a screenshot of the ad and the link to where the ad leads.

Alex Kasprak is an investigative journalist and science writer reporting on scientific misinformation, online fraud, and financial crime.

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