Philip Collins (The Times Feb 17 2017 p25) has a very interesting article on fake news and lies. "If by 'a lie' we mean a statement that someone knows to be untrue but makes anyway with the explicit intention of deceiving, then political lying is rare to the point of extinction". He gave no example of a lying politician, nor can I think of one. So can we have some examples? Bare-faced lies please, and not exaggerated half-truths, spinning, omission of inconvenient facts, mistaken predictions, stupid exaggerations, wishful thinking, psychological denial, etc.
Hopefully, this can remain a Trump-free area, as it is too soon to come to any overall judgement. So, historical examples please.
To clarify why it is better not to mention Trump again in these answers for the time being:
"And what does it say about his supporters that they continue to be so unbothered by his bizarre behavior.
On Thursday, Trump offered yet another reminder that no matter his political appeal, he is unqualified and temperamentally unsuited to be president.
Trump simply is incapable of understanding the difference between truth and lie. Every slight, every criticism, every reference to his administration is seen through the lens of his ego."
MA Cohen Bostonglobe.com Feb 17 2017
Meryl Streep has got her frocks in twist, and has confused poor and inaccurate journalism and miscommunication with lying. There is an important distinction between untruths and lies:
"She accused Women's Wear Daily, which reported Lagerfeld's comments, of running the story 'unchecked'. And she warned.: "I do not take this lightly. He lied. They printed the lie, and I am still waiting'...
He later backtracked: 'After an informal conversation, I misunderstood that Ms Streep may have chosen another designer due to remuneration...'"
"Labour has branded Theresa May a liar...Jon Ashworth, the party’s shadow health secretary, said Theresa May had “lied” about whether she was going to call a general election"
Independent website Apr 26 2017
Comment
This is a ridiculous charge and an assault on the English language. Perhaps this is why the paper put "lied" in quotes, but I heard this interview on the radio and lie(d) was definitely said. The decision to call an election has been a complex one with arguments pro and con. Whatever one thinks of the TM's original decision not to have one and the recent decision to call one, it is perfectly obvious, as well as being the simplest explanation, that, as she clearly explained, she changed her mind as the political landscape altered. When she said she was not going to call an election, that was what she thought at the time, not a lie.
In Bangladesh, we can see that few politicians are very good and always try to tell truth but most of them are laier as they forgot what they says during their general election. So it can be said that it is partially true.
Dear Anthony Sir,
Yes they lie.
Please have a look at this ResearchGate link.
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Why_do_politicians_lie
Good luck!
One can now come to a conclusion about Trump -- see below. However, I still think he is the exception, not the rule.
"By Michael D’Antonio JULY 23, 2018 [Boston Globe]
WRITE A BIOGRAPHY of Donald Trump, and the question, posed by TV anchors, friends, and absolute strangers, comes almost every day: “Why does the president lie so much?”
Mental health experts have been furiously assessing Trump for years. They generally agree that he has a personality disorder that makes him devoid of empathy and unconcerned about social norms. This pathology underlies not only his lies but his cruel treatment of everyone from the children he ordered to be ripped from their asylum-seeking parents to the allies he denigrated at the recent NATO conference.
The diagnosis fits, but it isn’t necessary. To understand Trump’s mind-set, all one has to do is consider his perspective on humanity. As Trump told me directly, “For the most part, you can’t respect people because most people aren’t worthy of respect.”...
In office the president has astounded the world with his lies, which fact-checkers estimate exceed 3,000 thus far. Given the effort required to consider and then reach a conclusion about a presidential lie, this volume threatens to exhaust both our individual ability to sort them out and the larger society’s attachment to shared truths. And herein lies the ultimate explanation for Trump’s habit: He lies because he gets away with it..."
Here is an excellent article on memory and its common errors by Daniel Finkelstein, spoilt only by the headline. Lying should be reserved for situations where persons themselves know they are not telling the truth.
"Politicians may not even know they're lying
When Gavin Williamson swears he isn't a leaker, it could that he has really convinced himself he's telling the truth."
The Times May 8th 2019 p21
In politics, there are often lies, including giving the media false information generated by the government.
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