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Help us choose PolitiFact’s Lie of the Year

By Bill Adair
November 26, 2012

It’s time to choose the Lie of the Year — and we’d like your help.

As we’ve done for the past three years, we will be selecting the year’s most significant falsehood. We have begun putting together a list of contenders and would love to hear your suggestions before we unveil the list of finalists.

You can email your suggestions to truthometer@politifact.com or tweet them to us @PolitiFact.

We’ll announce our finalists in about a week.

Our Sources

See our fact-checks for sources.

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Bill Adair
John Kitzhaber
stated on July 18, 2014 in a campaign debate:
Oregon “is the most trade-dependent state in the nation”
False
Donald Rumsfeld
stated on February 17, 2013 in an op-ed in the "Washington Post":
Says wrestling was a favorite sport of Abraham Lincoln.
True
Rick Perry
stated on January 8, 2012 in a Republican debate in New Hampshire.:
Says President Barack Obama “is a socialist.”
Pants on Fire!
C.W. Bill Young
stated on February 20, 2010 in a speech to Pinellas County Republicans.:
The Democratic health care plan is a “government takeover of our health programs.”
Pants on Fire!
Dick Cheney
stated on December 30, 2009 in a statement to Politico.:
President Obama “doesn’t … want to admit we’re at war.”
Pants on Fire!
Barack Obama
stated on September 20, 2009 in an interview on Meet the Press:
“Mathematically, the White Sox can still get in the playoffs.”
True

Help us choose PolitiFact’s Lie of the Year









Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on September 10, 2026 in a speech at the RNC midterm convention:









JD Vance
stated on August 24, 2026 in a speech in Brewer, Maine: