They may exaggerate, evade, or exaggerate the truth. They may talk about their memories out loud, shout out, or criticize. But experts say smart politicians rarely lie outright.
“People lie to each other,” former cabinet minister Christopher Pyne said this week at the beginning of the ABC documentary “Nemesis.” The first of a three-part series covers Australia's Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison era from 2013 to 2022.
And among the various insults hurled were many notable examples of politicians directly contradicting each other's events.
Meanwhile, accusations of lying have been leveled at Labor after it changed plans for stage 3 tax cuts.
Perceptions of injustice can mean political death, but as “truth coach” Ellie Johnson points out, there is a vast and complex continuum between “truth” and “lies.”
Johnson, who trains people including government agencies in security screening, is working on a book chronicling the 50 (or 60) shades of gray between truth and lies.
“The aim is to really understand how complex the subject of truth and lies is, and how subtle the ways we avoid telling the truth,” she says.
She says she expects everyone to be fundamentally honest, even if they lie. And most people prefer telling the truth as long as it doesn't get in the way of achieving their goals. And they step into a gray area.
“It may not be an outright lie,” Johnson says, but it would fall into two main types of untruths: cover-ups and fabrications. And there are many subtypes.
“It includes things like ambiguity, exaggeration, evasion, exaggeration, whitewashing, misleading, and even partial truths. It could be selective amnesia ('I just can't remember'). yeah. Other categories that “could happen in the political world,” she says, include:
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Deliberate confusion (deliberate tactics to cause confusion; intentionally create a state of uncertainty or misunderstanding; “detailed program specificity,” anyone?).
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to divert attention (to take focus away from a particular topic or problem).
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Hyperbole (exaggerating or expanding the truth to make something seem more important).
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False emotions (displaying emotions to show or hide real emotions).
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Misrepresenting the truth (by accepting the outcome but blaming it on the wrong thing).
“They do exist on a continuum,” said Ulrich Ecker, a professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Western Australia. “There is some objective truth…but there is a lot of gray in between.”
His research found that actual lies were hard to spot, at least in the race for prime minister between Bill Shorten and Malcolm Turnbull before the 2018 election. “Compared to Trump, Australian politicians are less likely to do that,” he says.
“They're very good at dancing around real questions, skirting things around, and not saying things that can be fact-checked.”
There's also a distinction between lying and being a bullshit person. The liar either knows the truth or could work it out, but chooses not to. Bullshitters simply don't care.
Former Prime Minister John Howard had some core promises and some non-core promises. Mr. Abbott once said his comments were “carefully prepared and scripted statements” that “should absolutely be taken as gospel truth.”
Political observers often point out that politicians answer questions they wish they had been asked, rather than questions they actually faced.
This can create a troubling imbalance that others may try to “bridge.” Refine your initial question to get to what you want to talk about. Congressman Bob Katter gave a memorable example of this in 2017.
When asked about same-sex marriage, he replied: “As far as I’m concerned, may a thousand flowers bloom.
“But I don't have time for that because in the meantime, people are being torn apart by crocodiles in northern Queensland every three months.”
Damon Hunt, a consultant and former Liberal Party adviser, said bridge-building is an “art form” when done properly.
“Smart, experienced politicians don't lie outright,” he says. “The consequences if you get caught are too dire, and it's too easy to check information these days.
“Lying is politically unwise and will eventually be found out, whether by the media conducting background checks, your advisors or the opposition.
“However, there are many other ways to convey messages, including negative and difficult messages.
“Bridging is a media technique in which you acknowledge that a question has been asked, but answer it as if you're talking about what you really want to talk about. I see experienced politicians do it very well.
Hunt also said that when multiple people talk about an event, everyone is likely to report a slightly different version of what happened. However, the phrase “I can't remember” doesn't have a very good reputation among the general public.
“The advice I give my clients is that the truth almost always comes out,” he says.
“If you tell Porky Pie, there's a good chance he'll find out and make things even worse. Tell your story as strongly as you can. But there are certain conditions you have to work within that, and you'll have to be honest. That's one thing.”
Ecker says there are many dangers in lying. There are leaders in the world who blatantly lie and who challenge the very existence of objective truth. “This threatens the entire fabric of democracy, which depends on honest and open debate,” he says.
So can you spot a political liar?
A psychologist, former FBI agent, and fraud investigator shares his top tips for spotting a liar. This list also includes being mindful of self-calming gestures, such as touching your face. Strange noises and random words. Nervousness speaks. But they also warned that most people are unable to spot deception.
Ecker said to be wary of politicians dodging questions, using emotional language and mongering fear.
“Please be careful [where] It is clear that they are being fed narratives that are intended to instill fear in potentially negative outcomes and groups of people…where the debate divides and pits one group against another. . ” he says.
Johnson says to be on the lookout for “mismatches,” where someone's movements don't reflect their words. People who lie can show “deception stress” such as a shaky voice or avoiding eye contact, but she warns people shouldn't jump to conclusions.
People who appear stressed are not necessarily lying. This may also be true for people whose words and actions seem to match.
“Even a liar can do that,” she says. “They can mislead you.
“Especially if you're practicing it.”