DOJ and FTC press states to target any illegal activity contributing to high gas prices ⁠70%

By Alex Nitzberg⁠0%

7/3/2026, 6:17:18 PM

BS Summary: This article contains 30 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Authority, Burden of Proof, and Post Hoc (False Cause), with Indoctrination as the most egregious example at 27% saturation with 161 hits. Analysis detected 1,660 faulty-reasoning hits from 597 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 63.1% and a BS Rank of ⁠70% (6,556 of 21,887 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 70.00% of the article peer group.

The federal government is urging state attorneys general to probe and prosecute any illegal activities contributing to high fuel costs for Americans. 
"Although crude oil prices are now dropping rapidly, far too much of that price cut is being withheld from Americans when they pay for gasoline," the letter, signed by Associate Attorney General Stanley Wodward Jr. and Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson, claims. 
The document includes a screenshot of a Truth Social post that President Donald Trump issued last week. 
In that June 24 post, Trump asserted, "The big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil. 
Those prices are dropping like a rock! 
In other words, customers are being ‘gouged.’ 
I have instructed the DOJ to immediately start looking into this. 
Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I’m seeing!" 
BESSENT WARNS GAS STATIONS ‘WE’RE WATCHING’ AS TRUMP DEMANDS IMMEDIATE PRICE CUTS 
The letter to the state attorneys general states, "As the Department of Justice (DOJ) answers the President’s call to action, both the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are closely monitoring petroleum markets. 
"We urge state law enforcers to join us in investigating illegal practices. 
Recent volatility in crude oil prices does not suspend either the antitrust laws or state consumer protection laws, and it does not authorize companies to manipulate retail prices or collude with their competitors. 
"We also encourage State Attorneys General to use all tools available under your state laws to investigate and prosecute any misconduct causing unjustified price increases — particularly conduct that violates state antitrust and consumer protection statutes. 
Although the Division and the Commission do not enforce any laws aimed specifically at price gouging rather than anticompetitive conduct, many States have also enacted laws specifically targeting price gouging during periods of market disruption or emergency, and we urge those states to review whether enforcement is warranted under those laws." 
Gas prices spiked considerably after the U.S. launched the war effort against Iran earlier this year but have been declining more recently. 
TRUMP ALLEGES GAS PRICE GOUGING, CALLS FOR DOJ INVESTIGATION 
The AAA national average price for regular gas was $3.823 as of July 3, down from the average of $4.261 a month ago. 
"Gasoline Retailers must get their Prices down, IMMEDIATELY! 
They’re too high considering that Oil is now at $68 a Barrel, and heading south. 
The Retailers must quickly react to this statement, and do what they know is right — DROP YOUR PRICE FOR OUR GREAT AMERICAN PEOPLE! 
There will be no gauging, which is totally illegal. 
If Retailers don’t do this, big problems lie ahead!" 
Trump warned in part of a Truth Social post Monday. 
In part of a post Wednesday, he declared, "Just as I promised, Oil Prices are plummeting FAST, and Gas Prices at the pump are dropping too, but not as fast as they should be." 
TRUMP DEMANDS GAS STATIONS LOWER PUMP PRICES IMMEDIATELY AND RENEWS PUSH FOR $2.50 GASOLINE 
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE 
"Affordable energy is essential to a thriving American economy. 
The Antitrust Division is committed to working alongside state law enforcement partners to provide resources and support to protect consumers from anticompetitive behavior that raises the price of gas," Woodward said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. 
"The Antitrust Division will use all available tools to ensure that companies are held accountable for unlawfully manipulating the market" 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 7.7%Alex Nitzberg: 2.0%FoxBusiness: 4.4%Confirmation Bias7.7%This article: 4.9%Alex Nitzberg: 0.9%FoxBusiness: 3.4%Anchoring Bias4.9%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 2.4%FoxBusiness: 4.1%Availability Heuristic0.0%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.6%FoxBusiness: 1.1%Representativeness Heuristic0.0%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.2%FoxBusiness: 0.7%Hindsight Bias0.0%This article: 5.2%Alex Nitzberg: 2.4%FoxBusiness: 3.7%Overconfidence Bias5.2%This article: 14.4%Alex Nitzberg: 9.0%FoxBusiness: 12.9%Framing Effect14.4%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.1%FoxBusiness: 1.5%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.7%FoxBusiness: 1.1%Status Quo Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.0%FoxBusiness: 0.2%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 1.5%Alex Nitzberg: 2.5%FoxBusiness: 8.8%Optimism Bias1.5%This article: 5.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.9%FoxBusiness: 2.0%Pessimism Bias5.0%This article: 16.9%Alex Nitzberg: 7.1%FoxBusiness: 7.9%Negativity Bias16.9%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 2.6%FoxBusiness: 4.5%Self-Serving Bias0.0%This article: 6.5%Alex Nitzberg: 0.5%FoxBusiness: 0.9%Fundamental Attribution Error6.5%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.2%FoxBusiness: 0.2%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 4.0%Alex Nitzberg: 1.5%FoxBusiness: 1.7%In-Group Bias4.0%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.7%FoxBusiness: 0.8%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 2.2%FoxBusiness: 3.8%Halo Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.0%FoxBusiness: 0.1%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.0%FoxBusiness: 0.0%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 11.4%Alex Nitzberg: 0.8%FoxBusiness: 2.3%Recency Bias11.4%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.3%FoxBusiness: 0.4%Primacy Effect0.0%This article: 8.5%Alex Nitzberg: 0.1%FoxBusiness: 0.1%Blind-Spot Bias8.5%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 2.2%FoxBusiness: 0.8%Ad Hominem0.0%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.3%FoxBusiness: 0.4%Straw Man0.0%This article: 22.6%Alex Nitzberg: 6.1%FoxBusiness: 7.2%Appeal to Authority22.6%This article: 5.5%Alex Nitzberg: 1.5%FoxBusiness: 1.6%False Dilemma5.5%This article: 1.5%Alex Nitzberg: 0.4%FoxBusiness: 1.2%Slippery Slope1.5%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.1%FoxBusiness: 0.2%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 12.2%Alex Nitzberg: 3.1%FoxBusiness: 6.3%Hasty Generalization12.2%This article: 2.8%Alex Nitzberg: 0.6%FoxBusiness: 0.8%Red Herring2.8%This article: 4.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.3%FoxBusiness: 1.2%Bandwagon4.0%This article: 16.1%Alex Nitzberg: 5.3%FoxBusiness: 6.1%Appeal to Emotion16.1%This article: 2.7%Alex Nitzberg: 1.5%FoxBusiness: 1.2%Begging the Question2.7%This article: 19.1%Alex Nitzberg: 2.1%FoxBusiness: 4.4%Post Hoc (False Cause)19.1%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.2%FoxBusiness: 0.1%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 21.9%Alex Nitzberg: 0.4%FoxBusiness: 0.4%Burden of Proof21.9%This article: 2.5%Alex Nitzberg: 0.0%FoxBusiness: 0.1%Appeal to Nature2.5%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.0%FoxBusiness: 0.3%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 1.2%Alex Nitzberg: 0.9%FoxBusiness: 2.4%Anecdotal1.2%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.3%FoxBusiness: 0.1%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 10.7%Alex Nitzberg: 0.8%FoxBusiness: 1.9%Ambiguity (Equivocation)10.7%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.0%FoxBusiness: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.0%FoxBusiness: 0.1%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.0%FoxBusiness: 0.1%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 14.6%Alex Nitzberg: 0.1%FoxBusiness: 0.3%Special Pleading14.6%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.1%FoxBusiness: 0.2%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 7.2%Alex Nitzberg: 1.9%FoxBusiness: 1.8%Unattributed Quote7.2%This article: 11.6%Alex Nitzberg: 1.4%FoxBusiness: 1.4%Quote-first Misdirection11.6%This article: 7.2%Alex Nitzberg: 2.0%FoxBusiness: 4.1%Biased Writer Voice7.2%This article: 27.0%Alex Nitzberg: 1.2%FoxBusiness: 1.7%Indoctrination27.0%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 0.2%FoxBusiness: 0.1%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Alex Nitzberg: 2.2%FoxBusiness: 2.1%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 1.5%Alex Nitzberg: 0.6%FoxBusiness: 4.4%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…1.5%

597 words analyzed.

Speakers

2speakers38%attributed speech371writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
Writer's voice • 15 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 22 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 43 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 17 words • 0.0% coverageDonald Trump • 30 words • 100.0% coverageDonald Trump • 7 words • 0.0% coverageDonald Trump • 7 words • 0.0% coverageDonald Trump • 11 words • 0.0% coverageDonald Trump • 13 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 12 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 34 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 12 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 33 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 36 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 51 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 22 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 9 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 23 words • 0.0% coverageDonald Trump • 8 words • 100.0% coverageDonald Trump • 15 words • 0.0% coverageDonald Trump • 24 words • 100.0% coverageDonald Trump • 9 words • 0.0% coverageDonald Trump • 9 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 10 words • 0.0% coverageDonald Trump • 34 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 14 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 9 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 9 words • 0.0% coverageStanley Wodward Jr. • 39 words • 100.0% coverageStanley Wodward Jr. • 20 words • 100.0% coverage
Selected voice

Donald Trump

100%flagged-word coverage
167 attributed words74% of attributed speech87% writer coverage
0%17.5%35.0%Indoctrination+8.9 ptsWriter: 23.5%Donald Trump: 32.3%32.3%Quote-first Misdirection+18.0 ptsWriter: 0.0%Donald Trump: 18.0%18.0%Unattributed Quote-11.6 ptsWriter: 11.6%Donald Trump: 0.0%0.0%Biased Writer Voice-11.6 ptsWriter: 11.6%Donald Trump: 0.0%0.0%Attempt to Sell a Product -2.4 ptsWriter: 2.4%Donald Trump: 0.0%0.0%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.