Gas Prices

In a real social media post, did President Donald Trump say, "I am very close to deciding if I will run again in 2028"? No, that's not true: The supposed post does not appear on the president's official Truth Social account, and there are no reliable reports that it ever did. While Trump has suggested the possibility of running for…

Did U.S. President Donald Trump suggest on social media that Americans "drive downhill" to "adapt" to high gas prices? No, that's not true: His accounts did not show such a post. No credible media organization reported such a statement. The fake screenshot showed a blue checkmark next to Trump's X handle, but his real X accounts display a gray checkmark.…

Has the cost to serve Thanksgiving dinner "under Trump" dropped 25% since 2024 "under Biden"? A post from the White House says that, but the post compares the 2025 Thanksgiving dinner promo from Walmart to the one offered in 2024. The two promos do have different prices, but they also do not include the same menu items. The official White…

Did U.S. gas prices drop below $1.98 a gallon as President Trump claimed in a May 2, 2025 Truth Social post? No, that's not true: The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.18 on May 2, 2025, according to the AAA survey. The cheapest gas was in Mississippi, where the average price for regular unleaded was…

Did a German preprint study published in February 2024 by Christof Kuhbandner and Matthias Reitzner prove that COVID-19 vaccines caused the number of deaths per year to rise above recent trends, as several online posts and articles implied? No, that's not true: While it's true there has been a documented increase in excess mortality during the pandemic years, German health…

Did a guest on "The View" accuse White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre of espousing "bullshit" on an episode of "The View"? No, that's not true: Damon Imani, a social media personality, edited himself into clips of the real December 5, 2023, episode, on which Jean-Pierre was a guest. Imani has a history of making content where he digitally adds…

Does a video on social media show a "hack" that will "slash your gas expenses"? No, that's not true: This video fails to deliver what is promised in seven minutes of drawn-out instructions on how to make a nonfunctional contraption. How the gas savings might occur is never disclosed. Furthermore, a safety professional with the National Fire Protection Association advises…

Did Sylvester Stallone ban "woke crap" on the set of one of his movies, speaking against "a bunch of granola moms and their soy boy husbands"? No, that's not true. The claim originated from a satirical website that describes everything it publishes as "fiction." The story initially appeared in an article (archived here) published by The Dunning-Kruger Times on March…

Can simply answering three or four questions and paying a nominal handling fee qualify people to redeem tickets, receive expensive products, $500 or even $1,000 gift cards, store credit or compensation from well-known brands? No, that's not true: In the first quarter of 2023, Lead Stories tracked a large-scale phishing operation on Facebook that manipulatively tricks people into divulging personal…

Is the Speedway gas and convenience store chain giving $500 gift cards to consumers who answer three questions as part of a price-gouging lawsuit settlement? No, that's not true: The post is a hoax. There is no evidence on Speedway's official web page of any lawsuit settlement and a link included with the post doesn't route uses to any real…