Contaminated Citgo gas before Hurricane Idalia miscast in viral conspiracy theory | Fact check

Gabrielle Settles, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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The claim: Post implies Florida authorities planned mass casualty event during hurricane

An Aug. 28 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a video of a man standing outside in the rain, recording himself as he gives “breaking news” about Hurricane Idalia.

“They tell residents there's a hurricane coming, ‘Hurry, hurry, go to the gas station, fill up your tanks now,'" says the man. "So the people go fill their tanks up, only to later learn that the gas has been contaminated with diesel fuel. ... They'll get on the interstates and highways and byways in Florida, and their vehicles will suddenly die. This is the ingredient for mass casualty event (sic)."

Some social media users took the video as evidence the government was planning a disaster.

“Like Hawaii, they gonna make sure as many people as possible can't get out?” wrote one user.

The post amassed more than 600 shares in two days. The video was first shared on TikTok, where it was shared over 44,000 times.

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Our rating: Missing context

The implied claim here is wrong. While a group of Citgo gas stations did accidentally receive gasoline mixed with diesel fuel, authorities warned the public of the mishap and identified the specific stations that had contaminated gas.

Authorities warned public about contaminated gas

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services informed Florida residents on Aug. 27 that fuel purchased in the Tampa Bay area the day before "has a strong likelihood of being contaminated."

The situation arose after the gas company Citgo found that one of its gasoline shipments delivered to the Port of Tampa had been accidentally mixed with diesel fuel, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Diesel fuel is harmful to any car engine that uses gasoline. Citgo and government officials notified the community of what had happened.

The company said in a statement that it notified all Citgo marketers who lifted gasoline and diesel from the port’s terminal between 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. that day to stop their sales.

“A limited number of retail locations are affected, and Citgo is currently coordinating efforts to remove the product from the retail locations that received it,” the company said.

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State officials held an Aug. 27 press conference to address the situation. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said it was another factor that could complicate preparation and evacuation efforts ahead of Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 hurricane on Aug. 30.

“They’re trying to get the list of all the gas stations that may have had cross-contamination so that people know if they filled up at any of these stations, that they probably don’t want to drive their car because you’re going to have people potentially just stuck on the side of the road," DeSantis said. "I mean, if you fill up your tank with diesel and you start driving it, it’s not gonna end well."

Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said officials were coordinating with petroleum retailers and the ports to ensure the disruption would not be “widespread or prolonged.”

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services provided an update on Aug. 29 on which Citgo stations in Florida had received the contaminated gas, and which ones had been cleared.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gas contaminated with diesel before Idalia wasn't planned | Fact check