Winston Churchill famously said, “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”
He was speaking about how quickly a lie can be spread by those who believe it, or by those who have a stake in others believing it. And he didn’t even have the internet and social media back then, so that speed is exponentially faster now. Not only that, but the barrage of such lies is even worse. We’re subject to a gatling gun of lies, half-truths, and spin from all directions.
It’s been particularly amazing to see the calm and confidence with which these falsehoods are spoken, particularly by people in leadership. They walk and talk with such an air of assurance that helps sell it. And many seem ready to accept what is being said due to that cool and collected delivery.
Pay attention to how and why pushback against such lies are framed. How much of the dismissal focuses on how the objection was expressed? How often do people say they won’t accept anything contrary to their preferred belief because the person doing it was too rude or too angry or too “shrill,” or used naughty language, or raised their voice too much when they said it?
The “rude, angry” person also tends to be a woman or black, while the “confident, reasonable” person tends to be a white man. Sexism and racism are the true foundation for so much of this.
The uncovering of truth entails acknowledging and confronting our unconscious bias. It entails looking past the calm tone to the claim itself. No matter how quickly or confidently the lie travels, it still needs to obey traffic laws.
Jeffrey A. Nelson 