Politicians/reality TV show hosts may be able to say things that are proven false, but students handing out resumes can’t. You wouldn’t believe the number of people I’ve seen whose resumes contain blatant lies and gross exaggerations. Most of these are easily catchable, too.
The other problem kids of today have is the permanence of records. My resume from 1987 was typed on some fancy paper my mom made me buy. That resume was thrown away by my boss three months after I got hired; if I wrote that I was president of my school, got a 4.0 and was voted the most fabulous student ever, no one will ever know.
Now? Digital storage means your resume can hang around forever. LinkedIn screen shots, bios you submit for conferences, resumes you email to companies – all of it is capture-able and storable.
Stick to the truth. The resume only gets you in the door anyway; there’s no use in being shown the door because you lied.