A viral Facebook post that emerged on June 12 falsely claims that President Joe Biden had approved gas stimulus checks worth $1,000 to help Americans pay for the rising cost of fuel – but the Facebook post’s claim is not accurate.
As gas prices rise higher than the $5.00 national average threshold that was crossed this month, the White House appears to be growing concerned about the cost of living – but as it stands, no additional federal stimulus checks appear to be on the way. The president also ruled out distributing pre-paid gas cards earlier in the year.
Stimulus Checks Rumor – What Did The Post Say?
The June 12 Facebook post, which was shared by many users and duplicated on other fake news accounts, claimed that the president was sending checks as soon as this week.
“President Biden confirm [sic] everyone will receive their $1k gas checks this week!!” the post explains.
“Long as you don’t owe da state you will get the full amount which is $1k this week!! Most of you should have gotten it on yesterday. This is for all states!!!”
The post was made by an account named “Kit-kat Peterson” and was accompanied by a photograph of a woman showing a check purportedly from the United States Treasury. The woman’s finger covered the name and address on the check.
The post is presumably part of a social media traffic-driving campaign. The same user who posted the false information, who describes herself as a comedian, regularly posts TikTok and Facebook videos in which she performs for her audience and encourages people to share her content. The false post did not contain a call to action and did not request any personal data from social media users.
Biden Once Ruled Out Pre-paid Gas Cards – But May Reconsider
President Joe Biden reportedly ruled out sending pre-paid gas cards to help Americans pay for gas at the pump back in March.
Axios reported at the time how a House Democratic counsel talked the president out of the idea by arguing that the cards would be ineffective, too much for the understaff IRS to handle and poorly targeted. Under the plan, according to the report, Americans would have been sent a pre-paid card that could be used at gas stations.
A White House official told FOX Business this week, however, that the president hasn’t ruled out the idea entirely – and could change his mind as prices continue to soar.
“The president has made clear that he is willing to explore all options and hear all ideas that would help lower gas prices for the American people,” the source told Fox News.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
