Perhaps the single biggest driver of economic activity among commodities is the price of gas. It impacts the economy on a multitude of levels from shipping to manufacturing to households, and of course, automobiles. Consequently, it is a favorite subject of Fox News to wield as a club when they believe that it will negatively impact President Obama. They are so enamored of this particular propaganda weapon that they will even deploy it if they have to make up the allegedly bad news.

The headline plastered atop the Fox Nation web site yesterday screamed “Gas Prices Hit Record High.” The underlying article reported that the national average had just reached $3.59 per gallon. Those of you who pay attention to gas prices are now wondering how that figure can be described as a record high. After all, the national average gas prices were significantly higher in the past, most notably during the summer 2008, during the Bush administration, when they topped out at $4.12 per gallon.

Apparently the record being heralded by the Fox Nationalists is for a single day. It appears that $3.59 sets a record for all previous February 11’s. What the significance of that is remains a mystery. By itself it says nothing about the state of the economy or even the prospects for gas as a commodity. It doesn’t take into consideration the fact that there was a little old hurricane a couple of months ago that shut down imports and refineries throughout most of the eastern seaboard. Neither does it note the impact of the current blizzard slamming the region.

For Fox to misleadingly post a headline that claims record high gas prices without noting the qualification that it only applies to a single day is fairly typical of their journalistic malpractice. And it affirms that they are more interested in proselytizing a message of doom and fear than they are in informing their already ignorant audience.