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Articles on Lies

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U.S. President Donald Trump has often been documented bullshitting. In a business setting, however, bullshitters can be harder to identify. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Bullshit is everywhere. Here’s how to deal with it at work

Understanding the distinction between bullshit and lying is essential. We can reveal a lie by uncovering the truth, but dealing effectively with bullshit is more complicated.
‘I want to produce such an impression of utter weariness and ennui that my readers will imagine the book could only have been written by a cretin,’ Flaubert wrote. Photo by Nadar / ullstein bild via Getty Images

We’re living in the bizarre world that Flaubert envisioned

Is a 19th-century French author’s cosmic joke turning into a real-life global nightmare?
Deepfakes make it harder for us to communicate truths to one another and reach consensus on what is real. Screenshot

People who spread deepfakes think their lies reveal a deeper truth

We know that social media platforms have an incentive to promote whatever gets the most attention, regardless of its authenticity. We’re more reluctant to admit that the same is true of people.
U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller makes a statement on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, May 29, 2019. REUTERS/Jim Bourg

Is Robert Mueller an antique? The role of the facts in a post-truth era

What’s the role of someone who, like Robert Mueller, speaks only facts in a tornado of partisan bombast? Is it a breath of fresh air or an abdication of responsibility to protect America’s interests?
A sign behind Republican members of the committee during Michael Cohen’s testimony before a House Committee Wednesday. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Michael Cohen’s verbal somersault, ‘I lied, but I’m not a liar,’ translated by a rhetoric expert

Michael Cohen wants you to know that throwing your kid a ball doesn’t make you a Red Sox pitcher. So he told lies, he says, but that doesn’t make him a liar. A rhetoric scholar dissects his argument.
Does your body give away if you’re lying or not? AP Photo/Edward Kitch

Is a polygraph a reliable lie detector?

It would be great to know for sure when someone is lying and when someone is telling the truth. But no technology that purports to do so is foolproof.

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