2016 Lie of the Year Readers’ Poll results

The entire 2016 election has won this year’s reader competition for most significant falsehood.

President-elect Donald Trump, 2015 Lie of the Year winner and defending champion of last year’s reader poll, finished in second place with his Pants on Fire claim of “large scale election fraud happening on and before election day.” The trend of fake news, made-up stories that go viral, nabbed third place.

We offered readers six finalists for 2016 and an option to write in a misstatement. It’s the eighth year in a row we’ve asked readers to weigh in via an online poll. We received 8,529 entries.

Here are the results:

The entire 2016 election, when the falsehoods overran the facts

34.66%

Donald Trump: “Of course, there is large scale voter fraud happening on and before election day.” – Pants on Fire

26.95%

Fake news: made-up stories that go viral

20.23%

Other (write-ins)

7.88%

Donald Trump: “I was totally against the war in Iraq.” – False

4.29%

Hillary Clinton: Says Regarding the presence of classified information in her email, FBI Director James “Comey said my answers were truthful, and what I’ve said is consistent with what I have told the American people.” – Pants on Fire.

3.54%

Hillary Clinton: Says she “never received nor sent any material that was marked classified” on her private email server while secretary of state.” – False.

3.46%