You’ve been lied to.

When I was a young boy, my grandfather told me a story that was so amazing I wondered how it could be true. I said as much, and my grandpa said, “It must be true. I read it in Reader’s Digest.” And then he smiled.

In life we find ourselves giving various degrees of trust to various people and publications. For my grandad, Reader’s Digest was trustworthy, but not above being questioned. He also trusted radio announcers, but he didn’t much trust those people on TV.

Neither do I, and although I don’t look at Reader’s Digest these days, I do put a lot of trust in the reporting of The Wall Street Journal. (It isn’t just me. The only news outlet more trusted in America than WSJ is The Weather Channel.)

Which brings me to an editorial that I read in the Journal about disinformation.

Lie number 1

A little over a week ago, a career CIA official named James Erdman III testified before the Senate. He said that the White House and the Center for Disease Control knew, from very early on, where the Covid virus came from and how it spread. He was telling the truth.

The virus did not come from a bird or a bat, or even from some combination of the two. It came from a lab in Wuhan, China. President Biden knew that, Dr. Anthony Fauci knew that, and so did Republicans in the house and senate. I did not know, but I believed it was from the lab. It was the only reasonable explanation.

Erdman’s testimony prompted Wall Street Journal editorial board member Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. to write an article about how the “disinformation” origin story of Covid came about and why the truth was hidden. In his piece, Jenkins mentioned other incidents of disinformation propagated or supported by some part of the government. That included the 1977 Flu pandemic, bombings in Russia in 1999, Hilary Clinton’s “email problem,” the Hunter Biden laptop, and others.

One question this raises in my mind is: Why does a government lie to its people? In the case of Covid 19, the answer was clear and came in two parts. One was the desire to protect the reputation of China. As Jenkins wrote, “Dealings with Beijing must not be complicated by unproductive Covid recriminations.” Add to that the fact that the U.S. government and Dr. Fauci were also sponsoring research at the Wuhan Institute for Virology, and the self-interest is clear. (A lot of people lie for that reason. You probably knew that, as did I.)

When it comes to Hilary Clinton’s email server and Hunter Biden’s laptop, the reasons become much more political. The Wuhan cover-up was largely bipartisan, says Jenkins. These last two were not, but they also weren’t protecting the country, or even another country.

Still, the line goes like this: “How can you tell a politician is lying? His lips are moving.”

Lie number 2

This one has nothing to do with politics, it has to do with business. A fellow started a company about six years ago. Its purpose was to keep fruits and vegetables fresh longer for shipping and storing. He created a product that did that, and built a solid business both in the U.S. and then in Europe.

He gained good market share in a business that largely used wax coverings for the same effect, and his company was growing.

Then two anonymous posts were made on Facebook, claiming that his product contained metals and/or chemicals that were not safe for humans. One of those might have pointed out that Bill Gates was behind all of this. None of those claims were true. They were, in fact, lies.

An influencer in the “fresh foods” space online reposted them. The response she got encouraged her to post more. She picked up the pace, encouraged her army of followers to protest the company and keep the product off the market. They were, in fact, about to sign a contract with Costco. But the retailer was inundated with emails and online posts and even phone calls, and ultimately did not sign the contract.

All of this protest was built on two posts that were lies. The identity of the original posters is still unknown, but the identity of the influencer, who profited from her part in it all, is well known. She has now said, “Sorry” — and is being sued — but the damage was serious and deep.

You might not trust an anonymous post on Facebook or any other online platform. But you might trust an influencer. If you do, you may well have been lied to.

Discerning the truth

How can we know who to trust? When should we know that something is off? What difference does any of it make anyway?

Let me start with the second question: when should we know something is off? The easy answer is that if the statements being made and the story being told appeal solely or primarily to your emotions, be very careful.

Every news channel, including Fox and CNN and MS NOW, has segments that are designed to appeal to their followers. Watch any cable news station, and listen for the emotional tugs. You can spot them better if you watch a channel that doesn’t agree with your own positions.

You know who to trust from someone’s track record and whether or not they correct their errors. And remember this: a half-truth is a whole lie.

What difference does it make? Since the pandemic, trust in the government overall and specifically in the American justice system has fallen to a new low. It can be seen in many places, but one where it is troubling is jury rooms. According to jury consultant Laurie Kuslansky, “The isolation of Covid and the political divide are making us more and more disabled as a society to disagree and then reach consensus and compromise.”

Trust has eroded, emotions (as opposed to reason) are the language of politics and news, and the ability to tell and propagate lies widely is available without even leaving your house.

Listen for truth, not opinion. Always speak the truth, and always be discerning.

Do good. It’s in you!