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Lie of the Year 2016: Readers’ Choice poll

National
Trump poland AP photo
President Donald Trump listens during a joint press conference with Poland's President Andrzej Duda, in Warsaw, Poland, July 6, 2017. (AP/Czarek Sokolowski)
Angie Drobnic Holan
By Angie Drobnic Holan
December 2, 2016

PolitiFact will soon announce our Lie of the Year — the most significant falsehood of 2016, as chosen by our editors and reporters. We’re also inviting PolitiFact readers to vote for the Readers’ Choice award. Vote using the ballot below or use this link to our survey.

Create your own user feedback survey
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PolitiFact

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Angie Drobnic Holan
Joe Biden
stated on September 27, 2020 in a speech:
Says Amy Coney Barrett “has a written track record, disagreeing adamantly with the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the ACA. In fact, she publicly criticized Chief Justice Roberts’ opinion upholding the law eight years ago.”
Mostly True
By Angie Drobnic Holan • September 28, 2020
Instagram posts
stated on September 22, 2020 in an Instagram post:
Like Al-Qaeda and ISIS, Amy Coney Barrett has said her “end goal is to end the separation of church and state & build a ‘Kingdom of God’ in the United States.”
False
By Angie Drobnic Holan • September 27, 2020
Ilhan Omar
stated on March 23, 2019 in a speech:
Says that the Council on American-Islamic Relations was founded in response to 9/11.
False
By Angie Drobnic Holan • April 15, 2019
Mike Pence
stated on September 4, 2016 in an interview on "Meet the Press":
Says Hillary Clinton “wants to increase Syrian refugees to this country by 550 percent.”
True
By Angie Drobnic Holan • September 4, 2016
Antonio Sabato Jr.
stated on July 19, 2016 in an interview with ABC News:
Says President Barack Obama is “absolutely” a Muslim.
Donald Trump
stated on June 22, 2016 in a speech in New York City:
Says Hillary Clinton “said she was under attack (in Bosnia) but the attack turned out to be young girls handing her flowers.”
True
By Angie Drobnic Holan, Jon Greenberg • June 22, 2016
Marco Rubio
stated on January 17, 2016 in an interview on "Meet the Press":
Hostages were released as soon as Ronald Reagan took office because Iran perceived that America was “no longer under the command of someone weak.”
Pants on Fire!
By Angie Drobnic Holan, Louis Jacobson • January 17, 2016
Ben Carson
stated on September 27, 2015 in an interview on ABC's "This Week":
“We’ve had examples like in Yuma County, where we’ve been able to stop 97 percent of the illegal (immigration) flow, and those programs, they abolish.”
Mostly False
By Angie Drobnic Holan • September 27, 2015
Charlie Crist
stated on October 14, 2014 in a campaign ad:
Says Rick Scott changed his promise from 700,000 jobs created “on top of what normal growth would be” to just 700,000 jobs.
True
By Angie Drobnic Holan • October 14, 2014
Charlie Crist
stated on March 3, 2014 in in an interview on CNN:
On the economic stimulus.
Half Flip
By Angie Drobnic Holan • September 30, 2014
Americans For Tax Reform
stated on April 14, 2014 in in a press release:
“Obama has proposed 442 tax hikes since taking office.”
Mostly False
By Angie Drobnic Holan, Tim Ryan • April 22, 2014
National Republican Congressional Committee
stated on February 12, 2014 in a television ad:
“300,000 Floridians will lose their current health plans” because of Obamacare, a plan Alex Sink supports.
Half-True
By Angie Drobnic Holan, Amy Sherman • February 14, 2014
Janet Napolitano
stated on August 27, 2013 in a speech at the National Press Club:
The 2010 DREAM Act failed despite “strong bipartisan support.”
Mostly False
By Angie Drobnic Holan • August 28, 2013
Chain email
stated on May 29, 2013 in a chain email:
Says the word “Dhimmitude” is on page 107 of the health care law and means “Muslims are specifically exempted from the government mandate to purchase insurance.”
Pants on Fire!
By Angie Drobnic Holan • May 30, 2013
Marco Rubio
stated on May 3, 2013 in a position on legislation:
On an early date for Florida’s presidential primary
Full Flop
By Angie Drobnic Holan • May 9, 2013

Lie of the Year 2016: Readers’ Choice poll

Clear
Ron Johnson
stated on August 10, 2026 in a Fox News Digital video:
There is “an 82% miscarriage rate with women who got the (COVID-19 vaccine) injection in the first or second trimester.”
False
By Caleb McCullough • August 12, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on August 10, 2026 in remarks in the Oval Office:
When the measles, mumps and rubella vaccines are given together in the combined MMR vaccine, “there could be a possibility they’re quite lethal.”
Pants on Fire!
By Amy Sherman, Madison Czopek • August 11, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on August 10, 2026 in remarks while signing an executive order:
There are vaccines the size of a “bottle of soda … poured into a little child’s body.”
Pants on Fire!
By Grace Abels, Louis Jacobson • August 11, 2026
X posts
stated on August 8, 2026 in X posts:
Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed “openly calls for Sharia law in America.”
Pants on Fire!
By Amy Sherman • August 10, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on August 4, 2026 in a Fox News interview:
Prices are “all coming down now. The food, the groceries, it’s all coming down.”
Mostly False
By Louis Jacobson • August 10, 2026
Mike Rogers
stated on August 5, 2026 in a campaign statement:
Abdul El-Sayed “believes America deserved 9/11.”
Pants on Fire!
By Caleb McCullough • August 7, 2026
Byron Donalds
stated on July 22, 2026 in X post:
“Senate Bill 484 ensures that utility rates will not go up due to data centers.”
Half-True
By Samantha Putterman • August 7, 2026
Seth Moulton
stated on August 5, 2026 in an Instagram post:
“DOJ Epstein files reveal Senator Ed Markey was part of Epstein lobbying effort.”
Mostly False
By Amy Sherman, Caleb McCullough • August 6, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on August 4, 2026 in una entrevista en Fox News :
En Venezuela, “Estamos ganando cientos de miles de millones de dólares (en ingresos petroleros), y ellos también”.
False
By Louis Jacobson • August 6, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on August 4, 2026 in a Fox News interview:
In Venezuela, “We’re making hundreds of billions of dollars (in oil revenue), and so are they.”
False
By Louis Jacobson • August 6, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on August 3, 2026 in remarks in the Oval Office:
“There was vandalism” at the Reflecting Pool.
False
By Amy Sherman, Louis Jacobson • August 4, 2026
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on August 2, 2026 in an interview with Dana Bash on CNN:
The U.S. “had the highest death rate from COVID of any nation on earth.”
False
By Grace Abels • August 4, 2026
United Democracy Project
stated on July 28, 2026 in an ad:
“With our democracy on the line against Donald Trump in 2024, El-Sayed told Democrats to vote uncommitted — even after Gov. (Gretchen) Whitmer warned those efforts would help elect Donald Trump.”
Half-True
By Gracey Abernethy • July 31, 2026
Haley Stevens
stated on July 27, 2026 in a debate:
“No,” she hasn’t taken money from utility companies for her U.S. Senate campaign.
Mostly False
By Caleb McCullough • July 29, 2026
James Fishback
stated on July 23, 2026 in X post:
The U.S. Congress just “voted to merge our military with Israel’s military.”
False
By Samantha Putterman • July 29, 2026
Senate Leadership Fund
stated on July 25, 2026 in an ad:
Maine Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Troy Jackson hit a female colleague.
False
By Amy Sherman • July 28, 2026
Mike Collins
stated on July 21, 2026 in an X post:
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff “voted against the Laken Riley Act.”
False
By Ben Brasch • July 28, 2026
Social Media
stated on July 14, 2026 in publicaciones en redes sociales:
“El Congreso acaba de elegir la única versión de reforma horaria que Estados Unidos ya probó, odio y derogó”.
True
By Alex Min • July 27, 2026
Abdul El-Sayed
stated on July 6, 2026 in an interview:
A Michigan Senate primary poll “seems to be funded by AIPAC.”
False
By Caleb McCullough • July 24, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on July 22, 2026 in a speech in Georgia:
“They caught thousands of votes in New Jersey where illegal aliens were allowed to vote. Thousands and thousands.”
Mostly False
By Amy Sherman, Louis Jacobson • July 24, 2026
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