Blame technology, partisanship for rise in political lying, experts say

ALBANY — Truth in politics is taking a beating these days, political scientists say.

Fragmented news media aimed at target audiences, unfettered social media and a polarized electorate have helped make political lying more prevalent today, they say, and leaves a trail much longer than the scandal dogging Rep. George Santos (R-Nassau/Queens).

“It’s gotten out of control,” said Catherine J. Ross, a professor at the George Washington Law School. “Once a lie is up there, it’s very hard for the truth to catch up. That’s especially hard with social media.”

Lying in politics isn’t new, but a lie can fly faster and farther than ever because of technology and high levels of partisanship.

“Certainly, there were lies about opponents and the candidates going back to the time of the founders,” Ross said. “Our first couple of presidential elections were full of lies. But I think we have become much more aware of them in recent years.”

She said outright lies and intentional misrepresentations in recent years have “desensitized us to accept as normal what is not normal … there’s been a shifting of norms. Lying is no longer something that disqualifies people,” said Ross, author of “Right to Lie? Presidents, Other Liars and the First Amendment.”

One reason, according to Mitchell McKinney, a political communications professor and a dean at the University of Akron, is a fragmented media where conservatives and liberals listen only to what they consider like-minded commentators on cable TV, podcasts and webcasts.

When news broke in December that Santos fabricated his work history and education, he went on the “Cats at Night” WABC radio show, which plays to a conservative and Republican audience, to contend the fabrications were merely embellishments. Show host John Catsimatidis and three relatives contributed $11,600 to Santos’ campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Analysts said people in a sharply partisan environmental will believe a lie — or not make any effort to determine if it’s true — because it reinforces what they already believe.

“I think when you are preaching to the choir, telling people what they want to hear and already believe in … you are more likely to believe it,” said Timothy R. Levine, a distinguished professor and communications chairman at the University of Alabama at Birmingham who researches deception and credibility assessment.

“Then there are the social surroundings," he added. "What do all your friends think? If I’m telling you what you want to hear and it not only appeals to you but your friends, and you hear it over and over again, I think you’re going to believe it whether it’s true or false.

“I think because of the political polarization and the information bubble, this is truer in the political circle than it’s been in a long time,” Levine said.

Political lies can be divided into two categories. "Special access lies" are ones politicians want to hide, such as phony backgrounds; "norm-breaking lies" are falsehoods that politicians and others want people to hear for a political purpose, said Ezra Zuckerman, a management professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-author of “The Authentic Appeal of the Lying Demagogue.”

Today, the featured scandal is that involving Santos, who this month acknowledged he lied extensively about his background in winning a congressional seat in November to represent parts of Nassau County and Queens.

Last year, Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, a Democrat, resigned after he was found to have lied in his application for the job. He had said he wasn’t being investigated by federal agents when it turned out he was. Bribery and fraud charges were dropped months later.

Those scandals come on the heels of major political lies.

For example, a court ordered InfoWars host Alex Jones, an influential conservative figure, to pay nearly $1.5 billion in damages to families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012. He used his social media platform to repeatedly say the massacre that left 20 children and six adults dead was a hoax.

Inside politics, operatives and principals know lying can pay off, said Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran political strategist.

“What you say matters,” Sheinkopf said, referring to political promises. “What you do matters less. The battle is to remain in office, offend few, and excuse what has not been accomplished. And truth has nothing to do with any of it at all.”

Yet there is a cost to the public they serve, the researchers said.

“Politicians are one of the least-respected professional groups, but their words and actions do have impact,” said Heidi Julien, professor of information science at the University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education. “When these words and actions are dishonest, the harm to democracy may be relatively limited in each case, but cumulatively, they work to undermine faith in government and in the important and positive service that many who serve in government aim to accomplish.”

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.