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Some social media users argue that rising fuel prices in the US are not the result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, increased consumption or supply chain problems, as daily life continues after a two-year recession brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead, the flurry of Facebook and Twitter posts show, with no evidence, that a nefarious scheme is underway: President Joe Biden’s administration is deliberately raising the price of gasoline to get more American drivers behind the wheel of an electric car.
“A gallon of gas, how do you get people to buy electric cars,” says a popular meme that has been shared thousands of times on Facebook and Instagram since Tuesday.
The latest internet fabrication shows that Americans’ obsession with conspiracy theories continues to play a large role in their interpretation of political decision-making, even in times of war.
“At this point, conspiracy theories were so ingrained in people’s psyches that they spread like wildfire because of social media,” said Mia Bloom, a Georgia State University professor who recently wrote a book on the QAnon conspiracy theory. “If this isn’t this conspiracy theory this week, there will be another one next week.”
Conspiracy-laden memes, Twitter posts, and videos started spinning when the average price of regular gas exceeded $4 per gallon for the first time in nearly 14 years. Production of messages surged on Tuesday after Biden announced he was banning Russian oil imports.
The claims about electric vehicles reflect key themes at the center of various conspiracy theories marketed by QAnon’s followers at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. operate child sex trafficking networks. Many QAnon social media accounts have put forward false conspiracy theories that the government will try to microchip people with a vaccine, or that the shortage of coins during the pandemic is a conspiracy to push Americans into a cashless society that will be easier for the federal government to control.
The electric vehicle appears to be the latest iteration of these conspiracy theories.
Some social media posts suggested that the government wants to force people to use electric vehicles so they can turn off a driver’s car whenever they want.
A false post circulating on social media platforms claimed, “I don’t know who needs to hear this, but high gas prices will push more people into electric cars that can be frozen just like your bank account.”
Contrary to this claim, electric vehicles operate similarly to gas-powered vehicles; The government cannot shut down individual vehicles at will. In electric cars, drivers can use public or private at-home charging stations to recharge. In fact, 80% of EV charging comes from a driver’s home, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
These types of conspiracy theories are popular in times of crisis—such as when a pandemic has shut down most of the world or during a war—because they give people an explanation for the inexplicable, Bloom said.
“Conspiracy theories provide such comfort in these very stressful times,” he said. “Even if someone is holding the strings, making a statement, for whatever reason, is less upsetting for some people.” “If there’s a conspiracy behind everything – ‘Okay, it makes sense. I get it now.'”
Expressions of “electric cars” and “government” on public social media accounts, news sites and television news have increased 400% in the past four days, according to an analysis by social media intelligence firm Zignal Labs for The Associated Press.
The uptick in the conversation also stemmed from conservative social media accounts that addressed the comments made by Transport Minister Pete Buttigieg during an event with Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday. The pair backed the federal government’s funding for public transportation and electric vehicles under the infrastructure law Biden passed last year.
“Last month, we announced $5 billion to build a nationwide EV charging network so that all people, from rural areas to suburbs and urban communities, can benefit from the gas savings of using an EV,” Buttigieg said. Said.
But misleading posts on social media took Buttigieg’s comments out of context, suggesting that he was directly reacting to the recent rise in gasoline prices by telling people to buy electric vehicles. Some posts claimed Buttigieg’s answer to rising gas prices was for Americans to buy “$50,000 electric cars.”
“Pete Buttigieg says if we don’t like gas prices we have to change our vehicles,” said a post shared thousands of times on Facebook and Instagram.
Buttigieg, who appears to have responded to the allegations, shared a website link on Twitter listing electric car prices ranging from $27,400 to $181,450.
“I see some strange claims about electricity prices,” Buttigieg wrote in the tweet.
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