Walmart refutes November 1 closure rumor
- Published on October 31, 2025 at 16:25
- 4 min read
- By AFP USA
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Walmart says it will remain open on November 1, 2025, contrary to widespread social media rumors that the big box retailer plans to close to in-person shoppers in the United States as federal food assistance is halted for millions of Americans. Many of the videos spreading the false closure claim include AI-generated audio and unrelated images.
"Walmart is not playing with yall," says an October 25 post on Threads.
The post shares a TikTok video from an account that is no longer available.
The video said: "Breaking news. Walmart has made a major decision ahead of the expected SNAP benefit chaos. Starting November 1, all Walmart stores will close their doors to in-person shoppers. Only employees will be allowed inside while customers will have to shop online or use curbside pickup."
The voiceover mimics a news broadcast, and the nearly identical script was used in videos that racked up tens of thousands of engagements across TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X. It was also translated into Spanish.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) oversees the state-administered Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides some 42 million low-income Americans with vital grocery bill assistance.
USDA says the federal government shutdown, which began October 1 as Congress failed to pass funding legislation, will force it to cut benefits on November 1.
Around two dozen states run by Democrats sued Republican President Donald Trump's administration on October 28 over its refusal to tap emergency funds to keep the program funded. Other states, including Virginia, declared a state of emergency to allow the use of state funds to temporarily cover the shortfall (archived here).
Walmart captures 24 percent of SNAP shoppers' total spending, according to June 2025 report from Numerator, a market research company (archived here).
But when the retailer reported earnings in late August -- ahead of the government shutdown -- it raised its outlook, despite noting that middle- and lower-income households were pulling back spending in categories that had become pricier due to Trump's tariffs.
And the economic bellwether was quick to dismiss the online rumors that it plans to close its stores to in-person shoppers.
"These claims are false, and we will continue to be open for business," the Walmart Global Press Office told AFP in an October 29 email.
Origin of the claim
A keyword search traced the false closure rumors to a TikTok creator based in Tampa, Florida.
In her October 22 video, she appeared to react to a series of other clips -- some of which may have been intended as satire -- in which people said they planned to steal from Walmart if their SNAP benefits were cut off.
"Walmart said y'all can SNAP from the parking lot this time," text over the video said.
She captioned the clip: "Breaking news just in -- Walmart said not today, baby! November 1st, they locking them doors like Fort Knox. You can order online, but don't even think about stepping inside!"
AFP reached out to the creator for comment, but no response was forthcoming. The video was removed shortly after, but it accumulated more than 1.1 million views before its disappearance.
Many of the subsequent videos referencing her claims include AI-generated audio and unrelated clips.
The Hiya.com voice-cloning detection tool within the Verification Plugin, also known as InVID-WeVerify, assessed that the audio in one such clip is "very likely AI-generated."
A reverse image search revealed that another video with more than 11,800 likes on Instagram relies on footage that has been online since November 2011.
Additional keyword searches on YouTube revealed that the footage does not depict a Walmart, but rather shows shoppers rushing to snag post-Thanksgiving holiday discounts at the "midnight opening of Urban Outfitters in the Thousand Oaks Mall in California" (archived here).
The widely shared post from Threads similarly included unrelated footage of Walmart employee Keli Kirby, who gained TikTok fame in 2022 for a recording of her singing to close the store.
Another video repeating the claim appears to show a corporate letter from Walmart. But on closer examination, it is clear the communication comes from Mississauga in Ontario, Canada. The note references an incident that took place in Toronto, as fact-checking outlet Lead Stories previously reported.
Walmart takes precautions to prevent theft from its stores. The retail giant says on its website that it uses closed-circuit television and cameras throughout its facilities to ensure "safety and security, asset protection, operations improvement, and deterrence and investigation of misconduct" (archived here).
Read more of AFP's reporting on misinformation about the United States here.
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