Fact Check: Is Walmart shutting down due to fear of looting on November 1?

The government shutdown has triggered a crisis that will soon start impacting common Americans. Those benefiting from welfare schemes will also be affected by the shutdown. In the middle of this crisis, shoppers are worried that Walmart may temporarily shut its doors on November 1. Some content creators made these claims because of the government’s decision to stop SNAP benefits in New York. The rumors spread like wildfire on social media thanks to a couple of videos on TikTok.

SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The federal program is one that provides low-income families and individuals with monthly benefits, which allow them to afford healthy food. According to a report in the Democrat & Chronicle, the program benefits 40 million Americans, of whom three million are New Yorkers. So, when news of the program being halted in New York came out, it was natural that the beneficiaries panicked.

Some of the people who will be losing those benefits apparently have taken to the internet to claim that they’d be looting stores like Walmart to survive. These claims are unverified, but they have led to another unverified claim about Walmart shutting down stores starting on November 1. These fears were spread by a couple of TikTok users called Kavell Kavon (@kavellkavon) and UncutRealness (@uncutrealness).

Both users released a video talking about Walmart’s potential closure, and the two videos have garnered more than 1.5 million views. "Y'all keep acting a fool and saying what y'all gonna do when y'all don't get your SNAP benefits, well, Walmart has just released what they’re going to do,” the woman in the @uncutrealness video said. “Walmart said the doors will be locked. Ain’t nobody coming in the store but their employees. Place your order online, do your shopping before November 1,” they added.

Kavon spoke along similar lines in his video as well. “Walmart said they are thinking about closing their doors on November 1. You can only order your food and groceries online. The brokies made a threat towards Walmart and said that if the government shuts off food, SNAP, they’re going straight to Walmart to get everything they need,” he said.

But claims bout the retail giant's move are not true. Despite being one of the largest grocery retailers that processes SNAP EBT transactions, Walmart is not worried about being looted by those losing benefits.

The stores have adequate security measures in place to prevent such an incident. One user, who claimed to be a Walmart district manager, even commented under the @uncutrealness video. “I’m a district manager at Walmart; no such memo has dropped,” they said. This means that shoppers do not need to worry about a closure any time soon.

For more of such content, follow @uncutrealness and @kevallkavon on TikTok.

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