Twitter Slams Biden With A Harsh Fact Check

Sunday morning, Twitter added a fact check to President Biden’s tweet, giving his claim about low gas prices some additional context.

“Right now, the most common price at gas stations across the country is $3.19 per gallon,” Biden said in a tweet. “That’s progress.”

Twitter added some guidelines on what “common” gas prices mean. The fact check differentiated between “the most common gas price” – which is now $3.19 – and the “average price” – which is $3.80.

Mode is a number occurring most frequently in a group on numbers. In this case the “mode” gas prices, meaning it happens to be the most frequent across the U.S. but is not necessarily the average price across the board.

Since it frequently differs from the national average and downplays the higher price, politicians have an incentive to cite the typical gas price.

In the lead-up to this week’s midterm elections, the problem has grown to be a significant headache for Biden and Democrats in general.

The oil industry has a choice.

Either invest in America by lowering prices for consumers at the pump and increasing production and refining capacity.

Or pay a higher tax on your excessive profits and face other restrictions.

— President Biden (@POTUS) October 31, 2022

Since taking office, Biden has had a particularly difficult relationship with the oil industry. Late last month, the president slammed major oil companies’ recent profits, advising them to use their money to boost American production and lower prices or risk restrictions.

Biden argues that oil companies’ recent profits were a “windfall of war” in Ukraine and that they have a “responsibility to act in the interest of their consumers, their community and their country.” The president urged them to allow some profits to boost their U.S. production and refining capability and to lower gas prices for Americans at the pump.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, the national average gas price was $2.37 per gallon when Biden assumed office in January 2021.