Last Friday, we wrote an article debunking Sarah Palin’s claim that Alaska “produces nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy.” That’s false. The state’s share of U.S. energy production is actually 3.5 percent.
Palin has now changed her tune:
Palin (Sept. 15, Golden, Colorado): My job has been to oversee nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of oil and gas.
That’s still bogus. As our colleague the Washington Post’s Fact Checker points out, Alaska actually accounts for 7.4 percent of U.S. oil and gas production, according to Energy Information Administration data. That’s just a bit over one-third of what Palin is claiming. The Fact Checker awarded Palin four Pinocchios for continuing “to peddle bogus statistics three days after the original error was pointed out by independent fact-checkers.” We say that sounds about right.