Our 2023 Lie of the Year goes to ...

We don’t use the word “lie” lightly at PolitiFact. Our Lie of the Year looks back at the most significant falsehood that tried to undermine truth in 2023. As we reflect, we're also looking ahead to the 2024?presidential election and the endless stream of online misinformation we will cover next year.

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The conspiracy theory campaign?of RFK Jr. is PolitiFact's Lie of the Year

As pundits and politicos spar over whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign will factor into the outcome of the 2024 election, one thing is clear:

Kennedy’s political following is built on a movement that seeks to legitimize conspiracy theories.

His claims decrying vaccines have roiled scientists and medical experts and stoked anger over whether his work harms children. He has made suggestions about the cause of COVID-19 that he acknowledges sound racist and antisemitic.

Bolstered by his famous name and family’s legacy, his campaign of conspiracy theories has gained an electoral and financial foothold. He is running as an independent — having abandoned his pursuit of the Democratic Party nomination — and raised more than $15 million. A political action committee pledged to spend between $10 million and $15 million to get his name on the ballot in 10 states.?

Even though he spent the past two decades as a prominent leader of the anti-vaccine movement, Kennedy rejects a blanket “anti-vax” label that he told Fox News in July makes him “look crazy, like a conspiracy theorist.”

But Kennedy draws bogus conclusions from scientific work. He employs “circumstantial evidence” as if it is proof. In TV, podcast and political appearances for his campaign in 2023, Kennedy steadfastly maintained:

• Vaccines cause autism.
• No childhood vaccines “have ever been tested in a safety study pre-licensing.”
• There is “tremendous circumstantial evidence” that psychiatric drugs cause mass shootings, and the National Institutes of Health refuses to research the link out of deference to pharmaceutical companies.
• Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine were discredited as COVID-19 treatments so COVID-19 vaccines could be granted emergency use authorization, a win for Big Pharma.?
• Exposure to the pesticide atrazine contributes to gender dysphoria in children.
• COVID-19 is “targeted to attack Caucasians and black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.”

For Kennedy, the conspiracies aren’t limited to public health. He claims “members of the CIA” were involved in the assassination of his uncle, John F. Kennedy. He doesn’t “believe that (Sirhan) Sirhan’s bullets ever hit my father,” Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, D-N.Y. He insists the 2004 presidential election was stolen from Democratic candidate John Kerry.

News organizations, including PolitiFact, have documented why those claims, and many others, are false, speculative or conspiracy-minded.

Kennedy has sat for numerous interviews and dismissed the critics, not with the grievance and bluster of former President Donald Trump, but with a calm demeanor. He amplifies the alleged plot and repeats dubious scientific evidence and historical detail.?

Will his approach translate to votes? According to polls since November of a three-way matchup between President Joe Biden, Trump and Kennedy, Kennedy pulled 16% to 22% of respondents.

Kennedy’s movement exemplifies the resonance of conspiratorial views. Misinformers with organized efforts are rewarded with money and loyalty. But that doesn’t make the claims true.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign based on false theories is PolitiFact’s 2023 Lie of the Year.

When he’s asked about his views, Kennedy calmly searches his rhetorical laboratory for recycled talking points, selective research findings, the impression of voluminous valid studies, speculation, and inarguable authority from his experience. He refers to institutions, researchers and reports, by name, in quick succession, shifting points before interviewers can note what was misleading or cherry-picked.?

There is power in repetition. Take his persistent claim that vaccines are not safety tested.

• In July, he told “Fox & Friends,” “Vaccines are the only medical product that is not safety tested prior to licensure.”??
• On Nov. 7 on “PBS NewsHour,” Kennedy said vaccines are “the only medical product or medical device that is allowed to get a license without engaging in safety tests.”
• On Dec. 15, he told CNN’s Kasie Hunt that no childhood vaccines have “ever been tested in a safety study pre-licensing.”

This is false. Vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccines, are tested for safety and effectiveness before they are licensed. Researchers gather initial safety data and information about side effects during phase one clinical trials on groups of 20 to 100 people. If no safety concerns are identified, subsequent phases rely on studies of larger numbers of volunteers to evaluate a vaccine’s effectiveness and monitor side effects.?

Kennedy sometimes says that some vaccines weren’t tested against inactive injections or placebos. That has an element of truth: If using a placebo would disadvantage or potentially endanger a patient, researchers might test new vaccines against older versions with known side effects.?

But vaccines are among “the most tested and vetted” pharmaceutical products given to children, said Patricia Stinchfield, a pediatric nurse practitioner and the president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

Kennedy encourages parents to research questions on their own, because doctors and other experts are invariably compromised.?

“They are taking as gospel what the CDC tells them,” Kennedy said on Bari Weiss’ “Honestly” podcast in June.?

Public health agencies have been “serving the mercantile interests of the pharmaceutical companies, and you cannot believe anything that they say,” Kennedy said.

Experts fret that the Kennedy name carries weight.

“When he steps forward and he says the government’s lying to you, the FDA is lying to you, the CDC is lying to you, he has credence, because he’s seen as someone who is a product of the government,” said Dr. Paul Offit, a pediatrics professor in the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s infectious diseases division and the director of the Vaccine Education Center. “He’s like a whistleblower in that sense. He’s been behind the scenes, so he knows what it looks like, and he’s telling you that you’re being lied to.”? Read our full story about why we chose Kennedy's false statements as our Lie of the Year.

Live, from New Hampshire … it’s campaign 2024

PolitiFact was in New Hampshire this past weekend, listening as Republican presidential primary contenders made their final pitches of 2023.?

With his eye on the New Hampshire primary, which lies a little more than a month away, President Donald Trump held a rally at University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore Center Arena. He made promises and painted a picture of a U.S. racked with high inflation, war and dirty airports.

Staff Writer Grace Abels and Deputy Editor Rebecca Catalanello?fact-checked five claims from that address. Here’s what we checked from the rest of the GOP field.

?In Atkinson, New Hampshire, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley shared a grave statistic about the synthetic opioid fentanyl. She said, "We’ve had more Americans die of fentanyl than the Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam wars, combined." Her numbers are accurate. About 65,300 soldiers died in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan combined. About 127,000 Americans died from drug overdoses involving a synthetic opioid other than methadone in 2020 and 2021, federal data shows. These deaths are primarily because of fentanyl. We rate the claim?True.

In Londonderry, New Hampshire, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Trump’s China trade deal wasn’t as effective as Trump had touted. “Do you know … China's only fulfilled one-third of the promises of agricultural products that they were supposed to buy from our farmers? One-third." By conventional calculations, China met 83% of its commitment for agricultural purchases. But Christie offered an alternative calculation that doesn’t credit China for the purchases it was already making in 2017. This calculation produces a result of about 40%, which is higher than the one-third Christie cited. We rate the statement?Half True.

In Manchester, New Hampshire, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he wants the crypto industry to thrive — but with regulation. “If we're trying to prohibit communist China from buying farmland in America, why are we allowing them to do crypto mining in the United States of America?,” he asked. A New York Times investigation?found Chinese-owned-or-operated crypto mines in Texas and at least 11 other states. No laws specifically allow countries such as China to crypto mine in the U.S., but a lack of laws prohibiting it means it’s "allowed." Federal safeguards, and some state laws, protect against foreign government-backed business influence. We rate this claim?Mostly True.

Quick links

• Trump claimed the Lincoln Project used AI to make him ‘look bad.’ But the clips are real. ?
• Why Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ claim that Sweden "shut down" gender-affirming surgical care is Half True. ?
• Despite what U.S. Senate candidate and Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb said, the U.S. government is not giving people who crossed the border illegally $5,000 gift cards. ?
• Texas Children’s Pediatrics clinics don’t have a vaccine mandate for patients.

The year’s in the (mail)bag

As we cue “Auld Lang Syne” and unwrap our 2024 calendars, we’re reflecting on 2023. Our readers have had plenty to say about our work, in emails and social media — Instagram, Tiktok and X.

Here are some reader responses.

President Biden likes to tell stories about his past that sometimes are exaggerations, wrong or misleading. In September, he said, "I taught at the University of Pennsylvania for four years." We rated that?Half True. A reader asked, "What half is true? … The facts are, he never did any classroom teaching and was only involved in panel discussions and the like for a little over two years." (Here is a?guide to our ratings from True to Pants on Fire.)?

Former President Donald Trump said at a December Iowa rally, "Gasoline prices are now $5, $6, $7 and even $8 a gallon." We rated that?Mostly False, noting that a fraction of 1% of the nation’s 150,000 gas stations were charging at least $5 when Trump made his remark. Readers on?Meta responded with their own fact-checks citing lower-than-Trump-cited gasoline prices in their communities. "How is this not a Pants on Fire?" one reader wrote. "Right now gas is the lowest I’ve seen in years."

For fun, we fact-checked? “Oppenheimer,” part of last summer’s “Barbenheimer” cinematic twinbill with “Barbie.” We found "Oppenheimer" hewed close to the historic record, but took a few liberties. A Texas reader replied: "For a Hollywood movie, including your corrections, this was the movie industry @ its best. The subject material is incredibly important with an extremely high degree of accuracy especially considering this is a form of entertainment for profit, not a historical documentary. … Thank you for your evaluation."

Read more from the mailbag.?

Have a fact-check idea or opinions about what we’ve written? Write to us at [email protected].

Looking back

Politicians and pundits kept us busy all year with claims covering COVID-19 vaccines, the Jan 6, 2021, Capitol attack and energy self-reliance. See our 10 most popular politicians-and-pundit fact-checks.

10. Conservative commentator Matt Walsh: “Tuck-friendly” bathing suits at Target “are available in kids’ sizes.” Our ruling: False.

9. Former President Donald Trump: “They are trying to make it illegal to question the results of a bad election.” Our ruling: False.?

8. Cartoonist Scott Adams: People not vaccinated against COVID-19 “came out the best." Our ruling: False.?

7. Fox News host Laura Ingraham: Video clip shows that protesters in Tennessee “made their way onto the state Capitol floor.” Our ruling: False.

6. California Gov. Gavin Newsom: "Per capita, more Floridians move to California than Californians moving to Florida.” Our ruling: Mostly True.

5. Trump: The Trump administration “built nearly 500 miles of border wall.” Our ruling: Half True.?

4. Trump: “The same people that raided Israel are pouring into our once beautiful USA, through our TOTALLY OPEN SOUTHERN BORDER, at Record Numbers.” Our ruling: Pants on Fire!?

3. Newsom: “We are more energy independent today” under President Joe Biden. Our ruling: Half True.

2. President Joe Biden: “One quarter” of today’s $31.4 trillion federal debt “was accumulated in the four years of my predecessor,” Donald Trump. Our ruling: Half True.?

1. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson: Capitol Police officers “helped” QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley and “acted as his tour guides.” Our ruling: Pants on Fire!?

Do you smell smoke??

Here's your Pants on Fire fact-check of the week: A Facebook post showed images of Donald Trump talking about deadly Panera Bread lemonade. They’re altered.

See what else we've rated Pants on Fire this week.?

A note: We will be returning to your inboxes the first week of January. It's time for a year-end, holiday rest and reset.?

Have questions or ideas for our coverage? Send me an email at [email protected].

Thanks for reading!

Katie Sanders

PolitiFact Editor-in-Chief