What was claimed
Adidas is giving away free shoes in exchange for registering on a website
Our verdict
The company says the post is false and that no such offer exists.
Posts about an Adidas shoe giveaway are fake
23 February 2023
Dozens of Facebook posts are falsely claiming to offer free shoes from Adidas.
The posts appear on community buy/sell groups from across England, Wales and Ireland and use identical wording,except where some of them add the name of the location.
One such post for a group in Leeds says: “HEY LEEDS MATES. For those interested, Adidas Originals is donating over 1400 shoes which cannot be sold due to a few scratches and minor damage. All shoes are comfortable and in order, so they will send them randomly to those who request. Deadline for applications is on the 28th of February and distribution commences after you register.”
One of the photographs used in the post has been taken from the careers website of the company while the other shows a pop-up store in the shape of a shoebox created for a Spanish music festival in 2013.
Other posts feature a picture sourced from a charity event in Florida where volunteers were giving away nappies, not shoes.
A spokesperson for Adidas told Full Fact: “I can confirm these are fake. We work closely with all the platforms to identify and remove these types of scam posts and ask that other examples are reported directly [to Facebook] or are reported to us."
The Facebook posts include a link where they say users can register to receive the free shoes. The link takes users to a page that appears to be connected to Adidas, but scrutiny of the web address shows it has been created using third-party software and is not part of the official company website.
The page claims there are 2,545 pairs of Adidas Originals available and invites visitors to click a button. This then takes you to a new page inviting you to enter personal details including name, email address and date of birth in exchange for the chance to participate in a competition to win a £500 Adidas voucher. This page makes no mention of free shoes being given away.
This is one of many fake posts we’ve seen claiming to be retailers giving out vouchers, prizes or low cost deals.
Image courtesy of Daniel Storek