I understand the misuse you're against here. "To lie" means to knowingly speak or write a falsehood. However, any reader knows he isn't claiming the speaker is a liar. He's claiming the statement is false, whether the author knows it at all. It's imprecise, but still legible.
I don't have a problem with the word I used. These situations are not equivalent at all, why bring that here when it's has absolutely nothing to do with topic at hand? in a dubious attempt at whataboutism? I stand by what I said.
