PolitiFact

For the first time since 2009, PolitiFact is recalibrating the Lie of the Year — our award for the most egregious falsehood we've seen in a year's worth of fact-checking. This year, we want to focus less on the offenders who perpetuate the falsehoods, and more on those who are hurt by them. So “congratulations” 2025. PolitiFact names you Year of the Lies. 🧵 buff.ly/0xMtlSp

At his Halloween party at Mar-a-Lago Oct. 31, President Donald Trump again called Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed a “jihadist.” El-Sayed has never advocated violence to promote Islam. PolitiFact previously rated a similar statement Pants on Fire. buff.ly/GQtJafw

U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens said fellow Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has said "Israel is the reason Michigan cannot afford schools, health care and child care." He criticizes foreign military funding and said it could be better spent elsewhere. buff.ly/4fbkIwr

Iowa state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott said Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn has taken thousands of dollars from Chinese companies. Campaign finance records show he’s received $15,000 from the American arm of Syngenta, a Chinese state-owned agriculture company. buff.ly/RLj9kDx

A Russian influence campaign called Storm-1516 is likely repurposing its 2024 tactics to spread false claims against Democratic candidates in U.S. Senate races in Maine, Ohio and Texas. Here’s what to know about the network. buff.ly/to44KAG

Florida Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Angie Nixon says GOP Sen. Ashley Moody made $2 million since entering Congress. That’s misleading. Federal data shows broad ranges for Moody's income from stock trades. buff.ly/Ci8G8sC

Una llamada automatizada en Florida dice que la congresista María Elvira Salazar apoyó financiar a ICE, llamó al Alligator Alcatraz “limpio” y votó en contra del uso de cámaras corporales. Parte de eso es cierto, pero le falta contexto. buff.ly/d4tDVRd

Some politicians and social media users have falsely said “late night” arrivals of ballots or counting that extends past midnight is fraud. Close margins and vote by mail receipt deadlines influence the timing of unofficial results. politifact.com/article/2026/…

A “Love is Blind” contestant said he regularly drinks raw milk. Relatively few people consume unpasteurized dairy products, but raw milk is far more likely than pasteurized milk to be linked to illness. buff.ly/f1y9oVn

Curious about methylene blue — the synthetic dye turned medicine turned wellness supplement? The blue liquid has several uses in medicine but using it at home can be risky. Evidence that it will improve cognitive function or halt aging is sparse. buff.ly/jLTXsuX

During a WMUR debate, NH Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte said her Democratic opponent Cinde Warmington lobbied for Purdue Pharma, the company behind OxyContin. Warmington said Ayotte had her own history with the drugmaker. Our fact-checks: buff.ly/uvQKTDV

PolitiFact provided live fact-checking coverage of the Granite State Debates with our partner WMUR, and chief correspondent Lou Jacobson joined WMUR in the studio to discuss how the candidates sparred over their records on the war in Iran. buff.ly/zkNLmYZ

Vote “flipping” or “swapping” claims are a recurring theme since the 2020 election, but there is no evidence that problems are happening on a wide scale or deliberately. Election officials say it’s often user error. politifact.com/article/2026/…

New Hampshire Republican Senate candidate John E. Sununu’s prior tenure as a senator opened lucrative doors for him. But did he earn $35 million from ‘Big Pharma’? That’s exaggerated. politifact.com/factchecks/20…

Josh Turek says Iowa leads the nation in farm foreclosures. He says tariffs and the ongoing war with Iran have hurt Iowa more than any other state. We looked at Turek’s claims and the data behind them. politifact.com/factchecks/20…

With no evidence, President Donald Trump called Michigan's Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed a “jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member.” El-Sayed has not advocated violence, has disavowed that group and said he has no ties to it. politifact.com/factchecks/20…

Viral social media posts said a woman’s account of a message displayed on a Cook County, Illinois, voting machine proves the election is “rigged.” Here’s why that’s Pants on Fire! politifact.com/factchecks/20…

President Donald Trump says Amy Acton wants to double Ohio’s income taxes to $21 billion. That’s based on broad, unsupported assumptions about Acton’s policy proposals. buff.ly/ibZDnMu

We fact-checked a Florida robocall that targeted U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, saying she supported ICE funding, called Alligator Alcatraz “clean” and voted against agents using body cameras. Some of it is accurate, some is missing context. buff.ly/qgVnTZf

An ad accusing Florida GOP Sen. Ashley Moody of casting the ‘deciding’ vote to block the Epstein files cherry-picks one procedural vote and ignores her approval of the Epstein Files Transparency Act that passed the Senate by unanimous consent. buff.ly/XJlEevX

In a final New Hampshire U.S. Senate debate, Chris Pappas and John E. Sununu sparred over cost-of-living solutions, voting records, and foreign policy. PolitiFact fact-checked them: buff.ly/M8WIp3Y