The war in Ukraine and the events related to it led to a tangible fear inCentral European countries because of what is expected there in the cold winter that will arrive in the coming months. Last week, after the amount of gas transported on Nordstream 1, the gas pipeline that connects Russia to Germany, dropped to 20% of capacity, this concern grew even more. And when panic flourishes, fakes and deceptions thrive. We have collected some of them.
The Germans against the neighbors. In Germany, which may find itself in significant distress as a result of the situation, there are those who point the finger of blame precisely at the neighbors from Poland. “The Polish gas reservoirs are 100% full… with gas from Germany,” claimed several Facebook posts that gained popularity in the country. The fact-checkers of DPA, the German news agency, and of the organization Correctiv, explained that although it is not a fake, this argument is problematic. The gas occupancy in the Polish reservoirs is indeed about 98% of the capacity, and Germany does export gas there, but initially this capacity is quite small. Germany, whose reservoirs are 65% full, can supply more than six times as much electricity as Poland, even though its population is only slightly more than twice as large. Second, much of this gas comes from the USA, Qatar or Poland’s own gas fields and is not related to Germany. And third, the fact that gas arrives in Poland via Germany does not necessarily mean that it is German gas. Some of this gas is simply the kind that passes through its pipes.
Engines forward. In Italy, too, they are going all out to reduce dependence on gas from Russia, and are turning to Algeria, among others. But are they actually letting the Russians in the back door again? This is what the Secretary General of the Italian Communist Party, Marco Rizzo, claimed. According to him, when outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi signed an agreement to increase gas exports from Algeria to Italy, he actually entered into a contract with a company called Sonatrac, 60% of which is owned by the Russian Gazprom company. And the truth? According to the Italian fact-checking organization Facta and other organizations, the company does have collaborations with Gazprom, but 100% of its ownership is Algerian.
Biden plan. Not only gas is becoming more expensive, and the distress is not only in Europe. Americans are very frustrated with the increase in gas prices, and some claim that the president, Joe Biden, planned it all. “Biden admits that gasoline at $5 (per gallon) was done on purpose!”, claims the post on Instagram, “This was the plan all along!”. The foundation? The fact that in May the President said that a difficult period is expected, but the world will emerge from it strengthened “and less dependent on fossil fuels”. As USA Today’s fact-checkers showed, apart from the fact that this quote doesn’t really prove the claim, Biden also made it clear in the same speech that he actually worked to lower gas prices.
No apologies. “The Japanese energy minister apologizes to the Japanese people for 20 minutes for a 20-minute power outage,” read popular posts in Europe next to a picture of a Japanese official bowing to an audience. The message is clear: the Japanese know how to take responsibility for even the smallest mistakes. But what about the facts? As they showed in AFP, the photo is from 2015, it shows the CEO of Honda, he doesn’t apologize at all, and Japan doesn’t have an energy minister.
debriefing: Uria Bar-Meir
for further reading:
– Correctiv’s test: No, the gas reserves in Poland are not full of gas from Germany
– DPA’s investigation: only a part of the Polish gas comes from Germany
– FACTA’s check: the Algerian gas company is not Russian-owned
– USA TODAY’s check: Biden didn’t say he would raise the price of gas to $5
– AFP’s test: In this photo, you don’t see Japan’s energy minister apologizing