In early 2021, the Washington Post found that President Donald Trump, a liar of epic proportions, had told more than 30,000 false or misleading claims over his 4 years of presidency. In fact, there’s an entire article about Trump’s veracity on Wikipedia. His lies began on the day he was inaugurated when, implying the gods were on his side, he told an audience at the celebratory ball that despite the weather forecast, it didn’t rain during his inaugural address. It clearly did. Lies blossomed during Trump’s presidency – saying things we could see with our own eyes were not true. When people all around him supported his lies with little or no resistance, it became a weapon in his hands that he used to dominate, dare we say “crush”, his opponents. His lies were relentless and often times childishly simple. Trump was a prolific liar – and a very good one.
An ignorant public fuel rampant lying from leaders
All politicians possess private and public truths – information they know is true, and information they pass on to the public. This segregated information is not always one and the same. If the citizens are ignorant, public truths can be used to manipulate them. And the public is ignorant in spades.
In 2010, when the Republicans made records gains in Congressional seats, the general belief was they would dominate Congress. But surveys after the elections showed that only 42% of Americans realized Republicans had taken control of the House of Representatives and not the Senate. In fact, only 42% of American could even name the three branches of government. Politics and the government are clearly not at the top of our agenda. Experts say our choice to embrace ignorance could lead to the fall of democracy in our country.
Who tells the most lies?
Most of us have been taught to always tell the truth. The rationale is backed by our religious beliefs and encouraged by members of society (who would be at a disadvantage if we did not tell them the truth). As a result, most people are honest. Research shows most lies are told by a small number of prolific liars. Thankfully, lies are told less frequently to people we have close relationships with. But politicians and business leaders who consider people below them as nothing more than subjects of rule, lies come easy and with great benefit to the liar.
Why lie?
Lies benefit the liar. Politicians can use lies to shift the agenda as they wish. They can, for instance, introduce a lie to the news. The mistruth moves from the media outlet to the public, who form opinions on the information and share with others. The opinion is picked up by the media who re-shape the information, taking into account the opinions of the public. The media information is received by the politician who reshapes the newly formed information to fit their agenda. In a sense, the lie is shaped at every point from the liar to the media to the public and back. It is through the process that the politician guides the information to fit their agenda.
But what if the politician is caught lying? Ironically, getting caught in a lie does them little harm. In fact, the lie gets amplified which keeps it in the news. You see, once a person receives information, it is nearly impossible to change or correct. Memory of the corrections fade while the information we obtained from the lie remains intact. This is especially true if the lie fits the receiver’s worldview. Any rebuttal will only cause cognitive dissonance which of course, we resist. Thus, additional media exposure simply ensures the lie will never go away.
Types of lies
Lies come in two forms. A lie may be a concealment of the truth (called lies of omission). For instance, Obama and Chaney concealed their support for same sex marriage throughout their campaigns. Well-informed citizens knew the truth, but they only came out and admitted it when the political winds changed. Similarly, Clinton supported a minimum wage of $15 in her campaign. She surely knew that this would result in a loss of jobs, but polls show it was what voters wanted so she kept her mouth shut.
The second form of lies is mistruth – what we would consider a flat-out lie. These are the most common, and most powerful forms of a lie, one that is used by successful politicians time and time again.
How to be a successful liar
The best liars follow a handful of common techniques. They often embed lies into truthful information or embellish details with unverifiable information as a means to camouflage the lie. Similarly, they may provide a good example to support their lie. People associate the lie with truthful information which lends support to the lie.
Good liars keep their lies simple and clear. They do this via avoidance or by being vague with details. This of course, makes the lie easy to remember – and pass along to others.
Politicians lie with confidence and conviction. They are masters at regulating their behavior and speech. Research shows good liars often have an inflated perception of their ability to deceive others. They are narcists by nature. And males are much better at it than females.
Is it wrong for politicians to lie to the public?
Some believe political lies are okay if it benefits the country. For example, Obama famously said everyone would be able to keep their existing insurance plan under ACA. This was, of course, false. But if Obama truly believed ACA was beneficial to the country, a program that may save millions of lives, he could argue that his lie was a moral high road.
Others, however, believe exploiting the public’s ignorance leads to partisanship, mistrust, and hatred.
The solution
Political lies propagate freely when the public is ignorant. An ignorant public is easy to manipulate, which gives politicians the ability to lie freely. Veiled behind their lies, we are unable to see the true leader. And those who lack the ability to choose a good leader are not fully free.
Most people put little effort into researching their choice of candidates. Would you purchase a new car or insurance policy without careful research? By being suckered by lies, you in effect, support the very thing you hate most – dishonest politicians and corporate greed.
Even worse, people typically make poor use of the information they do possess. For example, sports fans gather information about their teams and monitor the outcome (even though they have no influence over it). They do this “research” with extreme bias. Political fans act in much the same manner. They gather information with a bias. They overvalue information that supports their preexisting views. They vote with emotions, not intelligence. It’s a case of “rational irrationality”
Politicians should not be the driver of choice but rather, the driver of which items the public should take into consideration. Alas, that is not the world we live in. So, what can you do? Educate yourself. Then focus your time on benefiting others in their quest for the truth.
Image Credits
In-Article Image Credits
Pinocchio via Wikipedia Commons by Enrico Mazzanti with usage type - Public Domain. 1883Featured Image Credit
Pinocchio via Wikipedia Commons by Enrico Mazzanti with usage type - Public Domain. 1883
