In an era dominated by misinformation (stuff shared that’s innocently incorrect due to a lack of knowledge) and disinformation (lies purposely spread to confuse, discourage, and convince people to take a self-destructive path), it’s tough to distinguish the truth from BS.
This is true in nearly all areas of life, but especially true in politics.
So, here’s a guide, a cheat code; five ways to spot political lies.
Trump opens his mouth
This one should be self-explanatory. Trump himself has said on multiple occasions that he believes in the Hitler tactic of using “The Big Lie,” something so huge and outlandish that most people would believe it because they can’t imagine anyone would make up something so fantastically insane. Trump has done that on multiple occasions. “COVID is nothing, and it’ll go away without killing anyone,” “The 2020 election was stolen, and I won,” etc. But what’s insidious about Trump is, nothing is too big or too small to lie about… video evidence, and scientific verification to the contrary be damned. “My inauguration crowd was the biggest ever.” “I’m great for women’s healthcare.” “Biden is purposely letting MAGA folk in Hurricane Helene’s aftermath die.” “I’m the best president for the Blacks since Lincoln.” “I don’t know anything about Project 2025.” Every time Trump opens his mouth there’s a 95% chance an elephant-bone sized lie will come flying out.
Fox News reports it
The courts ordered FOX News to pay $787.5 million to Dominion Voting Systems for purposely lying and centering Dominion’s voting machines in the propagation of Trump’s and MAGA’s and the Republican Party’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen. But FOX’s entire brand and business model is based on propagating such lies. And business is so good that FOX was willing to pay nearly $1 billion. And they’ve continued on promoting disinformation, because it keeps them so flush with profits that $1 billion to them is chump change. And they care not that they’re making chumps out of the American people, journalistic integrity and U.S. democracy.
Lock-step GOP messaging
If you hear multiple members of the GOP responding to an issue spouting the same message, same words, same talking points, you can bet the farm they’re lying through all of their teeth. They have become masterful at “singing from the same hymnal” because they know that when people get hit with the same lie countless times, they begin to believe it.
Answer avoidance
See J.D. Vance’s non-responses to basic questions during the VP Debate. Or better yet, listen to what Trump, Vance, and all their sycophants say when asked direct questions about policy, about Jan. 6, about anything. They avoid answering the question and jump right to vomiting up their purposely erroneous talking points. They’ve become so good at it that millions of Republicans nationally have been moved to believe that anyone who thinks differently than them is a heathen, savage, and a mortal enemy of “NRA white Jesus” who should be killed.
Scapegoating
History is replete with examples of dictators (mass murderers in political sheep’s clothing) using scapegoating as a means to justify mass murder. Labeling whole groups of human beings as anti-human, vermin (rats), roaches, scum, and criminals (rapists, murderers, gang members) is the lying playbook that has led to the murder of billions. Any time you hear politicians and their followers demonizing entire demographics, nine times out of nine, they’re lying.
