The Functional Government Initiative announced the release of documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) which show President Joe Biden’s Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Director of Communications Pamela Rucker Springs contacting “fact-checking” site Snopes to adjust a rating on a public statement made by a CPSC Commissioner. 

The statement, made by Richard Trumka Jr. in Jan. 2023, regarded gas stoves and the potential interest in banning them as products. A leaked memo from Trumka around the same time also suggested a ban on gas stoves. 

Snopes addressed the statements, giving the initial reports a rating of “mixed.” FOIA documents show Rucker Springs contacting Snopes to say the story had “inaccuracies and misleading statements” and that the CPSC “wasn’t considering a ban on gas stoves.” 

Snopes adjusted their rating to “false” after this communication.

“A commissioner appointed by President Biden wanted to ban gas stoves, and he got caught, provoking a public outcry,” FGI spokesman Peter McGinnis said. “So, the CPSC staff leaned on Snopes, seeking to counter the narrative by splitting hairs about Commission processes. And the White House finds this ‘helpful.’ Helpful with what? This goes beyond dysfunction – the government using sympathetic media to censor inconvenient news. The American people deserve both to keep their gas stoves and to know the truth about what regulations government officials are considering.”