Fact check: Image of $7.11 gas at 7-Eleven was a test, not actual price

Dezimey Kum, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: Gas prices reached $7.11 at 7-Eleven

With U.S. gas prices surging, many social media users have drawn attention to an image purporting to show a 7-Eleven gas station charging $7.11 for gas.

"When 7 Eleven sells $7.11," reads the text of a June 22 Facebook post. The post accumulated more than 200 reactions within one day.

A June 19 tweet that shared the image generated over 700,000 likes and 80,000 retweets within three days.

Similar posts, including one shared by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, have garnered thousands of interactions on Facebook and Twitter.

But the photo doesn't show an actual sales price.

It is actually from a test by a 7-Eleven in Chicago in 2020. The store tested gas prices on its sign before the gas station opened, 7-Eleven representatives told USA TODAY.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the claim for comment.

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The photo is from 2020

Reddit user Matt Beemsterboer captured the photo in Chicago in 2020, according to an interview with the Associated Press. The image was originally posted on his Reddit page in March 2021.

A 7-Eleven representative confirmed in an email exchange that the image is “more than a year old,” and the gas price listed is not the sale price.

“In the past, it was common for building contractors to test the fuel price signs at newly built, but not yet open 7-Eleven locations as $7.11 in honor of the store’s name,” a 7-Eleven spokespersonsaid in a statement to USA TODAY. “We have since requested that building contractors stop this practice and hope this recently re-circulated photo does not cause any confusion for 7-Eleven customers.”

Though some states, such as Illinois and California, had stations surpass $7 per gallon in early June, the average U.S. gas price now is about $5 per gallon, AAA reported.

The average price of gas in Chicago is close to $6 per gallon, according to GasBuddy.

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Our rating: Missing context

Based on our research, we rate MISSING CONTEXT an image that shows a 7-Eleven gas station selling fuel for $7.11. The photo was taken in 2020 at a 7-Eleven store in Chicago. Building contractors used the price of $7.11 to test the sign before the location was open to the public, according to 7-Eleven officials.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Image of $7.11 gas at 7-Eleven was test, not actual price