Wrote: Fatbardh Dema
Through two photos published on Facebook, the account "Lajme Nga Bota" has claimed to be columns of cars at fuel pumps in North Macedonia (here and here).
According to the claim, some gas stations in Skopje have even run out of fuel due to panic buying by citizens.
The publications were made on March 2 and 3, linking the claims to warnings of rising fuel prices as a result of the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East.
What is the truth?
The photos used in these two posts are not recent. Hibrid.info has searched for these contents using the automated program “InVID”. It turns out that they are years old photos, and one of them is not even in North Macedonia.
Furthermore, there have been no reports that such panic has been created in North Macedonia and that certain gas stations have run out of fuel.
Claims and facts:
"Great panic among citizens in Macedonia after the news of the increase in fuel prices, due to the war in the Middle East, fuel pumps overflowing with cars", is the description of the photo published on March 2 by this account.
The photo shows several cars waiting in line to fill up with fuel at a gas station. But while the claim links the image to the current situation, following the conflict in the Middle East, the truth is that the photo is from 2022. It is an image published on the website “meta.mk”, which also claimed the authorship of the photo. It reported on a decision by the Parliament of North Macedonia regarding the reduction of the Value Added Tax on fuel prices (see here).
The same account also published a photo claiming to show an "emergency situation" in North Macedonia.
"Unusual in Macedonia, fuel pumps are empty: some pumps in Skopje have been left without fuel after most have bought it while the rest of the citizens have been left without supplies, while the increase in prices per liter of fuel that began tonight," was the description of the March 3 photo, which also shows cars waiting in line at a gas station.
Through image search, it turned out that it was originally published on the page "dreamstime.com", an online photography platform. The description of this photo states that it was taken in Iasi, Romania, on March 9, 2022, following misinformation about a possible price increase.
Hibrid.info searched Google for the words “oil price in North Macedonia”. The results led to an article by “telegrafi.com"which on March 2 reported an increase in the retail price of petroleum products with an average value of 1.13% compared to the decision of February 27.
Meanwhile, searching for the words "some gas stations in Skopje run out of fuel" for articles in the last week results in nothing.
The price of oil
Israel and the US carried out airstrikes on Iran on Saturday (February 28, 2026). Iran has since begun attacking Israel and US military bases in the region. There have been daily attacks from both sides (see here).
The price of oil has been warned that it is likely to rise because Iran has warned ships not to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which serves as one of the key routes through which about 20 percent of the world's oil and gas is transported (see here).
However, there have been no reports of fuel shortages in the region.
The content was addressed because the two photos received 70 comments, some of which appeared to take the claims for granted.
Analyze
Two photographs published on Facebook falsely claimed to show evidence of convoys of vehicles and a fuel shortage in North Macedonia.
Verification shows that they are old images: one from 2022 in North Macedonia, while the other is from Romania.
There are no reports that gas stations in Skopje have run out of fuel or of any such panic.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this content as "Disinformation".
rationale
"Disinformation" is defined as information content that contains a "mix" of inaccurate sources or even half-truthful attributes, and that is created and/or distributed with the deliberate intention of causing harm. The motive behind the producers/distributors of disinformation content lies in achieving a political, financial, psychological or social goal.