Fact-check: No truth to recent claims of Rs44 per litre petrol price cut
Spokespersons of state-run Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority and Geo News refute the news
Updated Monday Jun 03 2024
Claims making the rounds on TikTok allege that the government will slash the price of petroleum products by a significant Rs44 per litre in the coming days, purportedly offering substantial relief to the public.
The assertions also imply that this announcement was broadcast by Geo News.
However, neither is such a substantial reduction in petrol prices anticipated nor has Geo News recently aired any such news.
Claim
On May 26, a TikTok user posted a brief video captioned: “Ogra (the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority) has recommended decreasing petroleum prices by Rs44 per litre.”
The video also displayed a screenshot of Geo News allegedly airing the same news.
This post had garnered over 38,000 views and approximately 5,000 likes at the time of writing.
Similar claims were shared on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram and Facebook.
Fact
Statements from both the spokesperson of the state-run Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) and Geo News refute the claim.
“The claim is not true,” stated Imran Ghaznavi, the spokesperson of Ogra, in response to inquiries regarding the government's purported plan to reduce petrol prices by Rs44 per litre in the near future. However, the government did approve a reduction in petrol price by Rs4.74 per litre and high-speed diesel by Rs3.86 per litre on May 31.
The spokesperson of Geo News also denied airing any such news recently, suggesting that the shared graphic may be outdated.
A combined keyword and reverse image search revealed that Geo News had indeed reported on Ogra suggesting a petrol price cut of Rs44 per litre but back in April 2020, not recently.
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