The winner? Well of course!



PolitiFact's Lie of the Year: 'Death panels'

“Of all the falsehoods and distortions in the political discourse this year, one stood out from the rest.

"Death panels."

The claim set political debate afire when it was made in August, raising issues from the role of government in health care to the bounds of acceptable political discussion. In a nod to the way technology has transformed politics, the statement wasn't made in an interview or a television ad. Sarah Palin posted it on her Facebook page.

Her assertion — that the government would set up boards to determine whether seniors and the disabled were worthy of care — spread through newscasts, talk shows, blogs and town hall meetings. Opponents of health care legislation said it revealed the real goals of the Democratic proposals. Advocates for health reform said it showed the depths to which their opponents would sink. Still others scratched their heads and said, "Death panels? Really?"
The editors of PolitiFact.com, the fact-checking Web site of the St. Petersburg Times, have chosen it as our inaugural "Lie of the Year.””

And the runners-up...

“With 12.3 percent of the vote, a claim by conservative talk show host Glenn Beck that John Holdren, President Barack Obama's top science adviser, "has proposed forcing abortions and putting sterilants in the drinking water to control population."

With 8.7 percent of the vote, a claim by Orly Taitz that a birth certificate showed that President Obama was born in Kenya.

With 7.1 percent of the vote, President Obama's statement that "preventive care saves money."

Rounding out the rest of the finalists:

5.8 percent: The shout of "You lie!" by Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., in response to President Obama saying health reform would not insure illegal immigrants.

3.2 percent: The claim that Page 92 of the House health care bill "says specifically that people can’t purchase private health insurance after a date certain," said by Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.

1.7 percent: The claim that "When one person sneezes, it goes all the way through the aircraft," said by Vice President Joe Biden, when fears of swine flu were prevalent.

0.5 percent: The claim that an amendment to the House health reform bill "puts new restrictions on women's access to abortion coverage in the private health insurance market even when they would pay premiums with their own money," said by Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y.


http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2009/dec/18/politifact-lie-year-death-panels/