Far-right outlets are posting dire stories about four natural gas facilities supposedly being destroyed in recent explosions. Many imply that the explosions are part of a conspiracy.
These stories are inspiring fears of an energy crisis, famine, or even war.
But in stoking such fears, they also wildly misstate the facts. While there have been four explosions at and around fuel processing facilities, none of the plants were destroyed. And one of the facilities doesn’t even process natural gas.
Three of the incidents were serious enough to close the facility, though none appear to be permanently shuttered. One of those has since reopened.
The explosions also haven’t occurred in “the last two weeks” as multiple articles claim. The first happened in early June. Even if all had been in “the last two weeks” as claimed, that wouldn’t prove much, if anything.
Such claims appear to have originated in a story by an outlet called News Punch, which posted a piece called “4 natural gas facilities in US destroyed in ‘freak events’ in last 2 weeks” on Friday.
That story has since been repeated in multiple other fringe outlets and across social media.
The story itself contradicts the timeline and extent of the damage claimed by the headline. Two of the four incidents referenced by News Punch occurred three and six weeks ago, rather than within the last two weeks. None of the facilities have thus far been deemed “destroyed.” And one doesn’t even produce natural gas.
News Punch implies...
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