Ken Hurley
“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes” is a quote whose attribution is debated. Maybe Mark Twain, Jonathon Swift, or Winston Churchill. Maybe someone else, or all three. Not sure who said it first. The point of the quote is a good one. Lies travel faster than truths and people around the world are susceptible to believing lies.
People tend to believe false information is true after repeated exposure to it. We see lies vigorously promoted during every political season.
People are more likely to believe information that aligns with their worldviews or social identities. People may actively seek information that supports what they believe and disregard information that contradicts what they want to be true. People want to confirm their biases.
People’s biases and predispositions can make them vulnerable to a barrage of lies that may create a stubborn path to think and rethink issues, and may cause people to be unlikely able to change their minds, even when presented with evidence that contradicts their beliefs.
Do you know anyone on social media who enjoys commenting and arguing on nearly every issue but uses half-truths, omissions, and full-fledged lies in an effort to sway opinions or provoke?
Recognizing veracity doesn’t remove misinformation from people’s memories. Misinformation is too often still believed and remembered, even after people learn that it was a lie.
According to Marcel Danesi, PhD., in his book titled, Politics, Lies and Conspiracy Theories (2023), people are hardwired to believe lies. His research suggests that once a lie is accepted as believable, the brain becomes more susceptible to subsequent lying. Dictators and wannabe dictators know this well.
His research further suggests that dictators and other biased political wonks use dehumanizing words and degrading metaphors to establish and spread hatred of others.
During each election season we see coercive language, conspiracy theories, and lies used to embolden the public to hate others different from themselves.
Political posturing and outright lies seem a perpetual part of life, especially during election seasons. Perhaps the best thing we can do is to make the effort to think and rethink our own biases and our vision of an improved society by challenging the claims and metaphors of the other party, and then reexamine our own. Much easier to say than to do.
Supposedly, in our presidential history, George Washington could not tell a lie, Richard Nixon could not tell the truth, and a certain former president who is again a presidential candidate, cannot tell the difference.
Perhaps the greatest secular lie ever told is, “I have read and agree to the terms and conditions.”
No lie. ✅️
###
LIES
