As the year draws to a close, FactCheck.org has compiled its list of 2025’s “most egregious and noteworthy falsehoods and distortions” in American politics, featuring false and misleading claims by President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Some of the fact-checks highlighted by FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, involve claims about:
Tylenol and autism: In a late September press conference, Trump endorsed an unproven link between autism and the use of Tylenol, or acetaminophen, during pregnancy. Trump repeatedly told pregnant women, “don’t take Tylenol,” and offered the unsound medical advice to “tough it out.” Recent research indicates there likely isn’t a link. As for Trump’s medical advice, untreated pain or fever during pregnancy can be harmful to both mother and child, and medical groups have long recommended prudent use of the drug — taking acetaminophen when needed in consultation with a doctor.
Inflation has not “stopped.” As cost-of-living issues continue to be a top concern for voters, Trump has repeatedly claimed that inflation is “stopped,” “dead” or at a lower rate than it actually is, falsely saying the country saw “the worst inflation” in history (or “probably” did so) under former President Joe Biden. That’s not the case. The annualized inflation rate was 3% when Trump took office in January, and it was 3% again for the 12 months ending in September (and dropped to 2.7% for November 2025). The worst inflation increase year-to-year occurred after World War I, a 23.7% rise from June 1919 to June 1920.
Rising prices: As we head into the midterms, FactCheck.org would caution voters that politicians often blame their opponents for rising prices, but the causes of inflation are usually more complicated than that. For instance, Labor Day claims from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee blamed House Republicans for “driving up the price of burgers.” But drought conditions in recent years, among other factors, drove up the cost of ground beef.
Russia, not Ukraine, started the war. After U.S. and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia in February to discuss an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, Trump falsely reprimanded Ukraine, saying, “You should have never started it.” He said Ukraine “could have made a deal.” The war started on Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion, two days after Russia recognized two separatist territories in eastern Ukraine as independent states and sent Russian troops into Ukraine’s Donbas region.
Read FactCheck.org’s full list of the year’s whoppers.
