India, Feb. 16 -- A viral social media claim is making rounds on the internet that says that the U.S. government is collecting public donations to reduce its $38 trillion national debt.

While the claim is based on a real federal program, however, according to the official treasury page, the initiative has been around since 1843 and is neither new nor financially significant.

The claim gained traction after multiple X posts shared a screen shot of a "Donations to the U.S." page on Pay.gov that started a train of the same screenshot and confusions online.

These posts suggests the government is asking ordinary Americans to chip in and donate towards the debt burden of $38 trillion on the U.S. government.

However, official records confirm...