Critics pointed to a much more egregious candidate for “Lie of the Year.”
PolitiFact faced heavy backlash on social media for naming President-elect Donald Trump’s statement as the “Lie of the Year” instead of addressing what many saw as a far more significant deception.
The fact-checking outlet selected Trump’s claim that Haitian immigrants were eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio. The allegation spread widely on social media, but local officials denied any evidence to support it.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs,” Trump was quoted as saying by PolitiFact. “The people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country. And it’s a shame.”
Critics argued that a far greater lie was perpetuated by the media regarding President Joe Biden’s cognitive state.
“For nearly 4 years Democrats and the media claimed Biden is ‘sharp as a tack,’ is capable of being President, and is fully aware and cognizant. Then they staged a coup and stopped covering for him and all of a sudden it turns out he has no idea what’s going on around him and is in severe mental decline,” the Libs of TikTok account responded.
“This was a pretty big lie. But by far the biggest lie OF THIS DECADE is the Biden White House hiding the fact that our sitting President is basically a vegetable. Nothing even comes close in scale or scope. It should’ve been a constitutional crisis!” said Pradheep Shanker of National Review.
“The idea that this compares in any way to ‘Joe Biden is sharp as a tack and on top of his game’ ironically makes THIS the ‘Lie of the Year,’” commented Larry O’Connor.
“Gee, I would have gone with ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING EVERY ELECTED DEMOCRAT AND MEDIA WING MEMBER SAID ABOUT HOW JOE BIDEN WAS MENTALLY WELL, but I’m not a Democrat propaganda arm, so go off, heroes,” another popular response read.
Critics noted that the media largely supported the official narrative regarding Biden’s health while attacking Republicans and conservatives who pointed to mounting evidence of his decline. The deception unraveled completely after Biden withdrew from his presidential campaign following a disastrous debate performance that highlighted his cognitive struggles.
