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Quick Take
The IRS has not introduced a tax incentive for U.S. families to house immigrants in exchange for labor. A bogus claim that was originally posted as satire is circulating on social media without a disclaimer.
Full Story
There is no new tax incentive for families who house immigrants in exchange for labor.
A conservative satire account called U.S. Ministry of Truth had posted the claim on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Feb. 16, saying, “JUST IN: President Biden announces tax incentives for families willing to take in slav—migrants in a new ‘Housing for Labor’ initiative. ‘You can now apply to keep a migrant in your home in exchange for cooking, cleaning, picking crops, and landscaping.’ – via @IRSnews.”
There is no such announcement on the IRS X account. Also, the photo featured in the U.S. Ministry of Truth’s post shows President Joe Biden signing legislation, but it has nothing to do with immigration. The picture, from the White House Flickr account, shows Biden on June 3 signing an agreement to raise the debt ceiling.
Other fact–checking outlets have written about the claim, and the U.S. Ministry of Truth has mocked them for “fact-checking a satire account.” But the problem with content posted by self-described satire accounts is that such claims get copied and reposted by other accounts without the satire disclaimer, so social media users have no way of knowing the claim is supposed to be a joke. We’ve written about many other similar examples over the years.
In this case, screenshots of the original X post are circulating on other platforms without any indication that the claim was intended to be satirical. For example, one California politician shared the meme with his 229,000 followers on Instagram, and he included this message: “Modern day slavery signed into law.”
But, as we said, the claim is made up. “Modern day slavery” has not been codified in the U.S.
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.
Sources
Alvarez, Priscilla. “White House looks for federal spaces to house migrants amid pressure from cities.” CNN. 5 Jan 2024.
Smith, Cameron. “President Joe Biden signs into law the bipartisan budget agreement, Saturday June 3, 2023, in the Oval Office of the White House.” Flickr. 3 Jun 2023.
Norton, Tom. “Fact Check: Joe Biden’s ‘Housing for Labor’ Initiative to Take in Migrants.” Newsweek. 19 Feb 2024.
Tuquero, Loreben. “President Joe Biden announced tax incentives for families willing to take in migrants in a new ‘Housing for Labor’ initiative.” Politifact. 20 Feb 2024.
Reuters. “Fact Check: Biden did not offer tax incentive to house migrants for labor.” 21 Feb 2024.