Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

$
Viral image
Viral image
stated on May 11, 2021 a Facebook post:

Video shows woman filling plastic bags with gas after Colonial Pipeline disruption.

False
By Ciara O'Rourke
May 13, 2021

No, this video doesn’t show a woman filling bags with gas because of the pipeline disruption

If your time is short

  • This video first appeared online two years ago. 
 
See the sources for this fact-check

“Do not fill plastic bags with gasoline,” the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission tweeted on May 12, as social media users shared photos and videos of people filling plastic bags with gasoline. 

Some of the images are being mischaracterized as connected to recent gas shortages at some gas stations around the country in the wake of a cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline.

One video that’s spreading online shows a woman at a Kroger gas pump, double-bagging a plastic bag that appears to be leaking fuel that she then carries to the trunk of her car. 

But the video is two years old.

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

The video drew international attention in March 2019 when the Daily Mail wrote about the clip after it was uploaded to Facebook. 

It was recorded by a customer at a Kroger gas station Houston, according to the Daily Mail. 

We rate claims that the footage is current and connected to the Colonial Pipeline False.

 
Our Sources

Facebook post, May 11, 2021

The Daily Mail, What a fuel! Woman pumps gas into a plastic bag and then puts it into the trunk of her car, Dec. 12, 2019

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission tweet, May 12, 2021

 

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Ciara O'Rourke
Viral image
stated on April 2, 2025 a Facebook post:
“White hats to investigate Wisconsin Supreme Court election.”
False
Facebook posts
stated on March 28, 2025 a Facebook post:
Photo shows a missing police officer in “extreme danger.”
Pants on Fire!
Facebook posts
stated on March 28, 2025 a Facebook post:
Images show damage from an “earthquake in Thailand.”
False

No, this video doesn’t show a woman filling bags with gas because of the pipeline disruption





Donald Trump
stated on May 4, 2026 a White House event:








Donald Trump
stated on April 23, 2026 remarks at the White House:







Chris Wright
stated on April 19, 2026 an interview on CNN's "State of the Union":