Survey Finds GOP Lies More Than Dems

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Politicians of both parties are known for bending the truth, or sometimes even flat out lying, but a new study from George Mason University's Center for Media and Public Affairs has identified Republicans as being the most frequent liars.

The study used Politifact.com's rating system for truthfulness and found that the non-partisan organization rated Republican claims as false three times as often as Democratic claims during the first few months of President Obama's second term.

"While Republicans see a credibility gap in the Obama administration, PolitiFact rates Republicans as the less credible party," said CMPA President Dr. Robert Lichter.

The George Mason University looked at 100 statements made by politicians from January 20 through May 22 to come to its conclusion. The GMU survey found 32 percent of Republican claims were either rated "false" or "pants on fire," compared to 11 percent of Democratic claims.

The survey also found Politifact rated 22 percent of Democratic claims as "entirely true" compared to 11 percent of Republican claims.

Overall, the GMU survey found 54 percent of Democratic statements were rated mostly or entirely true compared to just 18 percent of Republican statements. On the flip side, 52 percent of Republican statements were rated as mostly or entirely false, compared to just 24 percent of Democratic statements.

Just in the month of May, 60 percent of Republican claims have been false compared to 29 percent of Democratic statements. The GMU survey found similar results during the 2012 presidential campaign as well.