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

In Detroit, El-Sayed said President Donald Trump's tariffs are “costing auto workers their livelihoods.” Trump’s second term has been characterized by the most stringent tariffs in decades and a trade war with Canada, whose auto industry is heavily interconnected with that of the United States. Confirming causation is tricky, but employment in the motor vehicle and parts sector has declined since the start of Trump’s second term: buff.ly/GkwANOk

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. buff.ly/nbquUxJ

In some of his highest-profile remarks about President Donald Trump’s decision to launch the Iran war, former President Barack Obama lamented Trump’s choice to exit the 2015 deal Obama negotiated with Iran. buff.ly/9klvjtX

Rallying in Cleveland for Democratic candidates, Barack Obama said Jon Husted "voted to kick hundreds of thousands of Ohioans off Medicaid." This is largely accurate. PolitiFact previously fact-checked an ad by Brown that said Husted voted “to kick 490,000 Ohioans off their healthcare,” rating it Half True. Obama’s version was less specific and therefore more accurate. The health care think tank KFF has estimated that 350,000 to 580,000 Ohioans could lose coverage. A more recent study by RAND found results broadly in line with KFF. buff.ly/LwkU5Db

Sherrod Brown: “Jon Husted voted 14 times, 14 times for the war in Iran,” Brown said. “Fourteen times.” A Brown ad said the same, that Husted “voted 14 times for the war in Iran pushing gas, diesel prices to record highs.” This needs context. Only one of Husted’s votes was on a resolution to end the war itself; the other 13 times he cast votes on procedural motions, keeping resolutions from coming to the floor. buff.ly/GkwANOk

At a Cleveland rally, Acton said her opponent Ramaswamy, “moved his business to Texas before running for governor of the state of Ohio. Probably not a good idea.” It’s accurate that Ramaswamy moved the company he co-founded— Strive Asset Management — from Columbus, Ohio, to Dallas. buff.ly/GkwANOk

Before a speech by former President Barack Obama, Democratic Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton criticized her opponent, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, for running an ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother, a decision that has also been criticized by some of Ramaswamy’s fellow Republicans. Our live fact-checking buff.ly/GkwANOk

Former President Obama joins Amy Acton and Sherrod Brown on campaign trail in Ohio today. Follow this live blog for PolitiFact's latest fact-checks and updates: buff.ly/GkwANOk

PolitiFact is fact-checking 2026 midterm races across the country. Follow this live blog for our latest fact-checks and updates throughout the weekend: buff.ly/kDO9HYr

President Donald Trump has promised “goodies” if midterms voters elect a GOP majority in Congress. This could include a Space Academy, a manufacturing investment, a break on ethanol and $5,000 payments. buff.ly/JJF1XZd

At a Fort Myers rally with President Donald Trump, GOP gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds and Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody painted their Democratic opponents as radical and vacillating. We fact-checked their statements. buff.ly/4C3JEpC

A WinSenate ad said Iowa U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson is “$8 million richer” after five years in Congress. The calculation is skewed by comparing the widest possible range between estimated assets. Experts say it’s misleading. buff.ly/jKgGhBC

President Donald Trump called ranked choice voting “damn bad cheating” during a recent Alaska rally. He also called it a “rigged deal” in 2022, which we rated Pants on Fire. Ranked choice voting is a legal and secure way to hold elections — and it lets voters’ preferences drive the results. buff.ly/l8CIPal

U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody said her Democratic opponent, state Rep. Angie Nixon, “signs up to defund the police, kneecap our military, abolish prisons, let noncitizens vote, do away with our borders.” That’s not what Nixon campaigns on. We're live fact-checking rallies today in Florida: buff.ly/kDO9HYr

A conservative super PAC ad says U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., “repeatedly” violated the STOCK Act. That claim stems from a financial disclosure with a typo that was corrected days later. buff.ly/5QHOts7

In early October, PolitiFact fact-checked a rally with U.S. Sen. Jon Husted and President Donald Trump on the national and state economies, Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown’s congressional record, and Husted’s recent bill on data centers and utility costs. buff.ly/Sv7V0BN

New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte said her Democratic opponent, Cinde Warmington, lobbied for Purdue Pharma and called its controversial pain medication, OxyContin, a “miracle drug.” This is accurate. buff.ly/uiVI6Pr

In Ohio, Iowa, Georgia and Maine, Democrats have attacked Republicans for voting against resolutions to end the Iran war. They are aiming to have voters connect the dots between the war and high gas prices before the midterms. politifact.com/article/2026/…

In Ohio’s race for governor, an ad from Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy features the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton. It doesn’t mention their estrangement or that Acton’s stepfather was charged with abuse. politifact.com/article/2026/…

El vicepresidente JD Vance intentó culpar al expresidente Joe Biden por los altos precios de la gasolina. Pero, expertos dicen que la causa principal es la guerra con Irán que inició bajo Donald Trump. politifact.com/factchecks/20…