Here’s How Trump Turns Lies Into Half-Truths (Video)
The media needs to do a better job of exposing the lies told by the president.
Earlier this year The Wall Street Journal’s editor in chief insisted that the news outlet wouldn’t label Trump’s false statements as “lies.” Lying, said the editor, requires a deliberate intention to mislead, which couldn’t be proven in Trump’s case.
But Donald Trump is the most lying president we’ve ever had, and he seems
to get away with it. Here’s his 10-step plan for turning lies into near truths:
Step 1: He lies.
Step 2: Experts contradict him, saying his claim is baseless and false. The media report that the claim is false.
Step
3: Trump blasts the experts and condemns the media for being “dishonest.”
Step
4: Trump repeats the lie in tweets and speeches. And asserts that “many
people” say he’s right.
Step
5: The mainstream media start to describe the lie as a “disputed fact.“
Step
6: Trump repeats the lie in tweets, interviews, and speeches. His surrogates
repeat it on TV and in the right-wing blogosphere.
Step
7: The mainstream media begin to describe Trump’s lie as a
“controversy.”
Step
8: Polls show a growing number of Americans (including most Republicans)
believing Trump’s lie to be true.
Step
9: The media start describing Trump’s lie as “a claim that reflects a
partisan divide in America,” and is “found to be true by many.”
Step
10: The public is confused and disoriented about what the facts are. Trump
wins.
Don’t
let Trump’s lies become near truths. Be vigilant. Know the truth, and spread
it. The media should stop mincing words. Report Trump’s lies as lies.
This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.
At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.
Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.
Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.
Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.
Donate now.