Today's GIF

Forbes Magazine, David Markowitz:

I’m an academic who cares deeply about how lying affects communication processes and social relationships. One of the most important and consistent truths about deception is that we are all mostly honest. Most people tell one or two small lies per day, on average, and there are only a few prolific liars in our social circles.

Rates of interpersonal deception — the lies I tell you and you tell me — have been remarkably stable in deception research over time. But, as others suggested, something is unusual about President Trump. His rate of deception has increased since taking office.

As of early April, Trump has told 23.3 lies per day in 2020, a 0.5-lie increase since 2019. What’s more, Trump has averaged 23.8 lies per day since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in the US — another 0.5-lie increase. Even during a pandemic, when the public needs to trust and rely on him the most, deception remains a core part of the president’s playbook.

The piece goes on to talk about 45*'s patterns of lying, and even though it filters out the "Trump lies all the time about everything" meme, it confirms for me that Cult45 is deeply invested in classic Daddy State gaslighting, in service of an agenda that's anything but "The best for the most".

Money quote:

Trump’s lies are problematic because they force us to question our institutions and the value of information. Their consequences might also bleed into our everyday meaningful relationships. Our trust in government, media, and other institutions remain quite low, but we still tend to trust one another.

What happens when our distrust in government affects our trust in family or friends? When we fail to value truth and instead, prioritize alternative facts or self-serving discourse, the fabric that holds our relationships together begins to fray.

Daddy State Awareness Rules

PREAMBLE:

The Daddy State tells us lies as a means of demonstrating its power.

The lies have practically nothing to do with the subject - or the apparent object - of the lies.

Lying about everything is a way to condition us - to make us accept the premise that they can do anything they want ...

… SO THEY CAN DICTATE REALITY TO US.