On Monday, PolitiFact’s Facebook page asked for donations this way: “Whenever the political landscape feels overwhelming, PolitiFact is there with the calm, independent facts you need to make up your own mind.”
As we have repeatedly demonstrated at NewsBusters, PolitiFact is not “independent” when it comes to “fact checking.” Their “reality” has a liberal bias.
A NewsBusters analysis of all the “Truth-O-Meter” ratings of elected or appointed officials from January 1 through October 31, 2026 found the Democrats drew 57 “fact checks” and 24 of 57 were “Mostly False” or worse (42.1 percent). By contrast, the Republicans were rated “Mostly False” or worse in 83 of 109 fact checks (76.2 percent).
Overall in 2026, there’s been a disparity in the number of fact checks of 109 to 57, or almost two to one, and the disparity in “False” warnings is 83 to 24.
In September and October, PolitiFact turned tougher on Democrat claims: 10 out of 20 checks were “Mostly False” or worse (50 percent), while Republicans ended up on the False side in 20 out of 25 checks (80 percent). So adding the last two months, the Republican percentage on the False side for 2026 went up one point, and the Democrat percentage increased four points.
No Democrat was tagged as “Pants On Fire” this fall, while Trump drew three “Liar Liar” rulings, and one was handed to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. Trump has drawn ten “Pants On Fire” ratings this year, for an overall “PolitiFact lifetime” count of 232 POF bombs.
Unlike Trump, top Democrat surrogates on the campaign trail drew no “Truth-O-Meter” ratings this fall: Zero for Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, and Bill and Hillary Clinton. Vice President J.D. Vance has three False ratings so far this year.
Let’s take a look at individual campaigns and how PolitiFact ruled (or did not rule). Their most evaluated candidate was Rep. Byron Donalds, running for governor of Florida. He drew eight “Truth-O-Meter” fact checks, and was Mostly False or worse in six of eight (75 percent), with one Half True and one Mostly True. By contrast, his Democrat opponent David Jolly was never on the False side: two Mostly Trues and a Half True.
PolitiFact is based in Florida. In the Senate race, Ashley Moody drew a False and a Half True, while Democrat Angie Nixon had a Mostly True and a Mostly False (which came at the end, on October 30).
The most evaluated Democrat was Abdul el-Sayed in Michigan with five fact checks, and none of them were on the True side. There was one Half True and four on the False side, with one “Pants On Fire” in July. His GOP opponent Mike Rogers also had four on the False side, including one “Pants On Fire.” Rogers never even received a Half True.
A few competitive Senate races drew light coverage:
Georgia: Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) had two on the True side and two on the False side. His opponent Mike Collins only drew three False ratings.
Iowa: Rep. Ashley Hinson had one True and one False in her Senate run. Democrat Josh Turek drew one Mostly False (late, on October 27).
Kansas: Sen. Roger Marshall (R) drew one False, while Democrat Adam Hamilton was skipped.
Maine: Sen. Susan Collins (R) received one Mostly True, and her Democrat adversary Troy Jackson had one Mostly False.
New Hampshire: Former congressman John E. Sununu drew one False, while Democrat Rep. Chris Pappas has one Mostly True and one Mostly False.
North Carolina: Gov. Roy Cooper received one Mostly False, to zero checks for Republican Michael Whatley.
Ohio: Sen. Jon Husted had one False, while former Sen. Sherrod Brown had nothing on the False side – two Half Trues and one Mostly True.
Texas: Ken Paxton was tagged with a False and a Mostly False, while James Talarico had a Mostly True and a Mostly False.
These Senate races drew zero “Truth-O-Meter” ratings: Alaska, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Carolina.
