AP slammed over claim Biden 'misspoke,' rather than 'lied' about green energy savings for Americans

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The Associated Press (AP) was slammed by critics this week for a fact-check in which it claimed President Biden "misspoke," rather than "lied," about how much money Americans would save on average by switching to renewable energy sources for their homes. 

"If you're home is powered by safer, cheaper, cleaner electricity like solar or heat pumps, you can save about $500 a month on average," Biden falsely claimed Thursday while announcing plans to release 1 million barrels of oil a day for the next six months from the strategic oil reserve.

A Thursday, March 31st tweet by the Associated Press was slammed by critics for claiming President Biden "misspoke" about green energy savings rather than lied. (Screenshot/Twitter)

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In a tweet later that evening, the AP claimed its fact-check found that Biden "misspoke," and pointed to a White House statement saying people using green energy might save $500 a year, not per month.

In its fact-check, the AP noted that the average electric bill for homeowners never passed $120 per month between 2009 and 2019, and was $115 per month in 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

US Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden gestures as he speaks during a campaign event at the William "Hicks" Anderson Community Center in Wilmington, Delaware on July 28, 2020. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) (Getty Images/Photo illustration)

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Critics took to social media to slam the AP, with some claiming Biden didn't misspeak, but actually lied, and others arguing that if a Republican was being fact-checked by the outlet, it would have accused them of "disinformation." 

"Every single ‘misspeaking’ a Democrat makes is to up-sell their BS policies, and ‘fact-checkers’ still refuse to call it a lie," wrote Townhall columnist Derek Hunter, while conservative website ForAmerica simply tweeted, "Biden didn’t misspeak, he lied."

"The AP is a Democrat activist organization. If a Republican politician said this, the AP would accuse him of ‘disinformation’ (lying). But when a Democrat politician says it, he 'misspoke,'" wrote Christina Pushaw, press secretary to Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Christina Pushaw, press secretary for Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, slammed the Associated Press in a Thursday, March 31st tweet for claiming President Biden "misspoke" in a fact-check about green energy savings, rather than lied. (Screenshot/Twitter)

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Journalist Kyle Becker expressed shock that the AP was even fact-checking Biden at all, declaring that "the deep state putsch" against Biden had begun.

Biden's announcement on the release of oil from the strategic reserve comes as average gas prices across the country continue to hover near record highs.