The Science Behind the Acceptance of Lies |
The internet remembers everything. Scroll back far enough, and you can usually spot the moment you were lied to—by a politician, a brand, a company, maybe even someone close to you. And yet, here we are. Still watching. Still buying. Still listening.
So why do we accept being lied to? Why don’t we walk away, call it out, or at least demand consequences?
With social media and now artificial intelligence (AI), lies come at us from every angle. One might assume that easy access to information would make lies easier to detect: We can compare statements, cross-reference sources, and verify facts within seconds. But most of the time, we don’t.
To understand why, we need to stop framing lying as a moral failure and start looking at it as a psychological defense.
Consider food advertising. Fast-food burgers in ads look thick, juicy, and perfectly assembled. In reality, they are flatter, soggier, and smaller. Ice cream in commercials is often mashed potatoes or lard. Shampoo ads rely on lighting, extensions, and CGI. Hotel brochures show empty beaches and oversized rooms. We know this. And yet, you see the ad, and you feel hungry.
This isn’t stupidity—it’s cooperation.
What’s happening here is a form of willing suspension of disbelief. Much like watching a movie, we temporarily accept a distortion because it offers pleasure, comfort, or fantasy. The cost of challenging these lies is frustration and disappointment, and it often outweighs the benefit. So we cooperate.
From a psychological standpoint, this reflects what Avery Weisman called the difference between reality testing and........