Fact Check: New York-based company makes interns pay under 'Reverse Internship' position?

An apparent prank job listing first spotted back in January 2020 has continued recirculating through social media platforms. The ad was posted on the job listing website Indeed.com and was attributed to the company Eisele & Stern in New York, US. According to the advertisement, the firm claims to be offering a “reverse financed internship” for a data analyst position, meaning that the interns will have to pay the company instead. 

The description of the job profile read, “You will compete various applied research projects for data analysis. Strong critical thinking skills and some programming experience is a plus. Knowledge of machine learning techniques is a bonus”. 

It added, “Note, this is a reverse financed internship so you will pay $15/hr to work here. Job type: Full-time”. 

The photograph of the listing has taken the internet by storm, including a Twitter post that has received over 258,000 likes and thousands of comments. However, it is imperative to note that no company by the name ‘Eisele & Stern’ appears in web searches. But despite being debunked, the meme has continued to find life on the internet, where a search under “reverse financed internship” produces several results with varying reach. 

‘It’s fake’

As the advertisement went viral, Indeed had said that it removed the ad and was further investigating. Meanwhile, several Twitter users were amused to see the posting. While one user wrote, “it's like companies are in some competition to see who can be the biggest exploiters,” another said, “Yes, trainee solicitors used to pay their employer for the "training". Although I'm pretty sure that stopped half a century ago”. 

(Image: Twitter)