Claim: U.S. President Donald Trump posted on X that he would make it illegal to “photograph or post gas prices.”
A rumor that U.S. President Donald Trump posted on X that he would make it illegal to “photograph or post gas prices” spread in May 2026.
The alleged post, seen in a screenshot (archived) from a Facebook user who shared it on May 19, 2026, read:
I am hereby making it ILLEGAL to photograph or post gas prices. These pictures help Iran, hurt America, and create PANIC by very weak people! If you see high prices, DO NOT POST THEM — report them for investigation. Gas price photography is ECONOMIC TREASON. MAKE AMERICA ENERGY DOMINANT AGAIN!
Other Facebook (archived, archived) and Threads (archived) users also shared the claim. Some users seemed to interpret the rumor as true. Snopes readers contacted us to investigate its legitimacy.
The story spread as average gas prices in the U.S. rose due to the war in Iran and the small number of oil tankers being allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Average regular gas prices on May 20, 2026, were 43% higher than the same day in 2025, according to AAA.
However, there was no trace of the alleged post on Trump’s X or Truth Social profiles. Rather, Karl E. Rominger, a Facebook user who often posts political content and shared (archived) the alleged post about “gas price photography” on May 18, 2026, called the post satire in a comment and said it was not real. Rominger’s post was the oldest version of the alleged post Snopes searches found.
Though people who read Rominger’s warning may have been aware that the post was meant in jest, other versions Snopes found were not marked as satirical or fake. Therefore, we find the post originated as satire.
We contacted Rominger for his response to the fact that some people mistook the satirical post for real news. We will update this story if we receive a response.
In reality, Trump appeared less concerned with gas prices than Rominger’s fake post suggested. On May 12, Trump told reporters who asked whether he considered Americans’ financial situation in negotiations with Iran to end the war (time code 10:57) that:
The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran — they can’t have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing — we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.
For further reading, Snopes routinely investigates the president’s social media use. We recently tracked 55 Truth Social posts that appeared on Trump’s profile in a matter of hours as well as whether Trump accused former President Joe Biden of being a Russian spy.
Because the effectiveness of satire is subjective, we use “originated as satire” or “labeled satire” ratings based on creators’ description of their work. It’s your call on whether you agree.
Sources:
AAA Fuel Prices. https://gasprices.aaa.com/. Accessed 20 May 2026.
‘Donald J. Trump’. X, https://x.com/realDonaldTrump.
‘President Trump Departs for Beijing’. C-SPAN, 12 May 2026, https://www.c-span.org/program/white-house-event/president-trump-departs-for-beijing/679026.
‘@realDonaldTrump’. Truth Social, https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump.
