AKEED, Anwar Ziadat

On Sunday evening, 29 January, a number of news sites published an eye-catching story titled "Gas Stations Not To Receive Fuel Tuesday." This has coincided with discussions about government plans to raise fuel prices and impose a new tax.

The story said: "Fuel companies will stop supplying gas stations with their needs at current prices on Tuesday, 31 January, due to government plans to raise prices and impose a flat tax on gasoline, fearing that these stations might not sell fuel in view of the difference in price."

One site introduced a change to the headline to make it read as follows: "Gas Stations To Stop Receiving Fuel; Metrology Organization Warns." However, it kept the other details unchanged.

The Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor (AKEED) called Engineer Nahar Seidat, president of the Gas Stations and Distribution Centers Owners Association, who denied the news and said that distribution companies were still carrying out their role in meeting the needs of stations of oil byproducts and would not stop supplying them. He confirmed that the news about a halt in supply was baseless.  

Seidat added that this story was false and would create confusion in the market. He said that there were understandings with the Ministry of Energy and with suppliers that the last order would be delivered before the day of price increase at the specified price in the event of a plan to increase fuel prices. He affirmed that gas stations were committed to providing citizens with their needs, calling on citizens to take news from reliable sources that rely on information from competent agencies.

The AKEED Monitor notes that the professional violation in the story lied in the key piece of information in relation to "gas stations stopping receiving fuel," which was not taken from a specific source despite the fact that it is highly sensitive with the public. The Monitor also observed that the details of the story were normal and contained information that is correct and useful for readers.