Social media users in Lebanon have been sharing posts claiming that the price of bread in the country will increase soon, causing concern amid deteriorating economic conditions. Here’s what we know.
Claim: The Lebanese Economy Ministry will raise the price of a bundle of bread to 3,000 Lebanese pounds at the beginning of next week as a result of the increase in the flour price and the devaluation of the Lebanese pound.
Verdict: False; The Economy Ministry has denied the claim.
Context:
In light of the rapidly spreading news about an anticipated increase in bread prices, the Director-General of Grains at the Economy Ministry, Gerges Barbari, denied what he described as “malicious rumors.”
The National News Agency quoted Barbari as “strongly denying what is being circulated on social media that the Minister of Economy and Trade in the caretaker government, Raoul Nehme, will announce next week that the price of a bundle of bread will rise to 3,000 pounds.”
“This news has no basis neither in terms of logic nor in terms of calculations, and it falls within malicious rumors,” he stressed.