Stand up for the facts!
Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.
I would like to contribute
Yes, oil company employees have donated to Obama
As part of a dust-up over which candidate is more likely to stand up to Big Oil, Hillary Clinton knocks Barack Obama for taking money from people who work for oil companies.
The ad starts by showing Obama saying, "I don't take money from oil companies." The Clinton ad's narrator chides Obama for boasting about this when corporations are prohibited by law from donating to political candidates. "But Barack Obama accepted $200,000 from executives and employees of oil companies," the narrator ads.
Obama would have been correct if he had said he didn't take money from oil company lobbyists or political action committees. (He did make this point in a later ad, which we found to be Mostly True; see it here .)
The ad also is correct that Obama accepted $222,309 from executives and employees of oil companies, according to an analysis from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. It's worth noting those donations could be from anyone from the CEO to the janitor. People who donate to political candidates are required to list their occupation and employer. It's important to note that this rule is has far from perfect compliance; sometimes people don't fill it in at all.
Featured Fact-check
Clinton doesn't mention the fact that she accepted even more money from executives and employees of oil companies — $309,363, according to the center. And she accepted about $442,800 from energy lobbyists, according to the center, though not all of that is from oil and gas alone.
Sign up for PolitiFact texts
Nevertheless, the ad is correct that Obama did accept money from employees of oil companies, and we rate its statement True.
Our Sources
Center for Responsive Politics, Contributions from Selected Industries: Oil and Gas , based on data released March 20, 2008
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Bill Adair
Yes, oil company employees have donated to Obama
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.