Fact check: Gas prices photo years old, not from January 6, 2021

The claim: Photo of gas prices sign was taken on January 6, 2021

On Jan. 6, 2021, rioters breached the U.S. Capitol building, temporarily disrupting the congressional certification of President Joe Biden's 2020 election win. The Biden administration has subsequently been blamed by some Americans for rising gas prices.

Some social media users are now sharing a photo of low gas prices they claim was taken on that historic day – before Biden was officially the president.

The photo shows a sign at a gas station advertising fuel prices. Regular unleaded gas is priced $1.99.

"Oh yeah, January 6th, 2021...when Americans could still afford to get to work," reads a June 17 Facebook post featuring the photo.

The post was shared more than 6,500 times.

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But the photo was taken years ago, not on Jan. 6, 2021.

USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who shared the claim for comment.

Photo is from 2015, not 2021

An uncropped version of the photo, dated Jan. 22, 2015, was uploaded to Flickr by user Mike Mozart. It is titled "Gas Prices 2015 Sign, Citgo Station."

In a direct message, Mozart confirmed the date of the photo and told USA TODAY it was taken in Newington, Connecticut.

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

In January 2015, average U.S. prices for regular-grade gasoline were roughly $2.12 a gallon, according to Energy Information Administration data. In January 2021, the average price was roughly $2.33.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a photo of a gas prices sign was taken on Jan. 6, 2021. The photo is from 2015.

Our fact-check sources:

• Mike Mozart, June 27, Direct message exchange with USA TODAY

• Mike Mozart via Flickr, Jan. 22, 2015, Gas prices 2015 Sign, Citgo Station

• Check Your Fact, June 24, Fact Check: Does this image show gas prices from Jan. 6, 2021?

• Energy Information Administration, accessed June 27, U.S. Regular All Formulations Retail Gasoline Prices

• USA TODAY, Jan. 13, 2021, DC updates: 4 dead, 52 arrested, 14 police officers injured after pro-Trump rioters breach US Capitol; FBI opens investigation

• The New York Times, March 9, Republicans Wrongly Blame Biden for Rising Gas Prices

• USA TODAY, June 17, Fact check: Image of Costco gas pump screen blaming Biden is fabricated

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Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Cheap gas prices photo from 2015, not January 6, 2021