Facts Matter: Easter remains a focus for Cadbury chocolates

A post circulating on social media ahead of the Easter holiday claims that a British candy maker has removed the word “Easter” from its Cadbury chocolate eggs.

“Britain has been a Christian nation for over 1,400 years,” the post reads. “Through wars, plagues, and countless kings, Easter has always been celebrated. Yet now, Cadbury won’t even use the word ‘Easter’ on their eggs. When did celebrating British traditions become controversial?”

A photo on the post shows a store display of the chocolate, and a sign on the display reads, “From Cadbury this season.”

But Cadbury hasn’t removed an Easter message from its products, according to Reuters. The message is there, it just is not visible in the store display photo.

Photos of the chocolate eggs taken by Reuters show the message “HAPPY EASTER” printed on the top of the packages.

A spokesperson from Mondelez International, the maker of the Cadbury products, told Reuters that the post is false.

“Cadbury has used the word Easter in our marketing and communications for over 100 years and continue to ⁠do so with our new Easter product range,” the spokesperson said. “To claim anything otherwise is factually incorrect.”

The Cadbury website lists a variety of products available as “the perfect Easter gift.”

Rise in gas prices due to Iran war

President Donald Trump addressed the nation on Wednesday about the Iran war and the U.S. economy.

“We’re now totally independent of the Middle East, and yet we are there to help,” the president said during the April 1 speech. “We don’t have to be there. We don’t need their oil.’’

But that is misleading, according to The Associated Press. The price of gas is very much affected by what is going on in the Middle East.

The U.S. is the leading producer of oil in the world, with a small amount imported from the Persian Gulf, which was 8.5% in 2025. But the price of oil is not a local issue.

Oil is a commodity, “the price of which is set in a global market, and a disruption anywhere affects the price everywhere,” University of Chicago energy analyst Sam Ori told the AP.

The price of crude oil in the U.S. is up more than 50% since war started, and the average price of gasoline is more than $4 per gallon.

Gas lines forming in other countries

Drivers around the world are facing higher gas prices.

A social media post from March 10 includes a video of vehicles in line and the drivers waiting to fill up their tanks.

“Petrol Scarcity Hits United Kingdom as Long Queues Form at Fuel Stations” the post read. “Motorists across the United Kingdom are facing long queues at fuel stations amid growing fears that the country could run out of petrol within two days.”

This video is misidentified, according to Full Fact, a British fact-checking site. This video is real, but it didn’t happen in the United Kingdom.

Although there are reports of long lines in the UK due to rising gas prices, this video was actually filmed March 2 at a Costco gas station in Spain.

There have been no news reports that the UK could run out of gas in “two days,” Full Fact said.

“(The) UK situation remains stable with suppliers working hard to deliver normal levels of supply through a mix of UK refinery production and imported fuels,” the trade association Fuel Industry UK said in a statement.

Trump didn’t call for pardon

Golfer Tiger Woods was arrested on charges of driving under the influence March 27, following a crash.

Later that day, it appeared President Donald Trump was advocating, in a social media post, for Woods to be pardoned.

“I’ve just been told that Tiger Woods, who is a Great Golfer and even Greater American, was involved in a minor fender bender today, and as a result of a misunderstanding, was charged with a dreaded DUI,” the post read. “This happening as he attempts to return to professional golf. Everyone deserves a second chance, which Tiger never got, if we're being honest. That is why I am calling on Gov. Ron DeSantis to IMMEDIATELY AND COMPLETELY PARDON Tiger so he can focus on The Masters and help to Make Golf Great Again!”

But this post is fake, according to PolitiFact. Although it’s designed to look like one of Trump’s Truth Social posts, there is no evidence he asked for a pardon for Woods. There are other archived posts that Trump wrote at that time, but this message can’t be found.

• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.