Beyond the Big Lie: The Epidemic of Political Lying, Why Republicans Do It More, and How It Could Burn Down Our Democracy

by Bill Adair

Bill Adair, Pulitzer Prize winner, journalism professor, and founder of Politifact , presents an eye-opening and engaging history of political liars and a vision for how to make them stop.

Bill Adair knows a lie when he hears one. Since 2008, the site he founded, PolitiFact, has been the go-to spot for media members and political observers alike to seek the truth in an increasingly deceitful world. Since the site’s launching, politics’ tenuous relationship with the truth has only gotten weaker—and weirder.

In this groundbreaking book, Adair reveals how politicians lie and why. Relying on dozens of candid interviews with politicians, political operatives, and experts in misinformation, Adair reveals the patterns of lying, why Republicans do it more, and the consequences for our democracy. He goes behind the scenes to describe several episodes that reveal the motivations and tactics of the nation’s political liars, show the impact they have on people’s lives, and demonstrate how the problem began before Donald Trump and will continue after he’s gone. Adair examines how Republicans have tried to change the landscape to allow their lying by intimidating the news media, people in academia and government, and tech companies.

An award-winning journalist and pioneer in political fact-checking, Adair is uniquely able to tell this story. With humor and insight, this remarkable book unpacks the sad state of our politics, but also, provides solutions to put an end to American political deceit once and for all.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Audiobook, American History, Social Science

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2024

Reviews

[Jake Sheridan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Political lying and misinformation stand at the core of our society’s current struggles. Here, Adair looks at their recent history, foundations, transformation, broad impacts, more personal impacts and potential solutions

And there’s no one better to hear from on this — Bill is often referred to in this branch of journalism as the “godfather of fact checking” for good reason. He’s at the center of a movement to get people to care when politicians lie.

He’s makes the case that you should care more too. And he’s right! This book sings with moral clarity. It’s also enlivened with some good anecdotes and not overly fat in any way — every word is doing something. I’m skeptical about the solutions aspect, and personally view robust local journalism as the clear antidote to correct political lying (and the same’s general demise as an essential contributor to lying’s recent intensification). But I’m for sure sold on the problem.

I’m also proud! As a former student of Bill’s, it means a lot to me to see him state his case. I appreciate how deeply he believes in fairness and truth and I’m lucky to have learned from him.

[Bill Woodburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw the author on John Stewart a while back, and thought he was pretty interesting. Informative book, but it’s distressing to know how much the ground has shifted on political lies just in the last year alone. Most of the solutions suggested in this book are already obsolete given the trump/ musk onslaught. Sad…

[Jackie Sunday · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carefully structured, this book is a thorough review of harmful, political lies.

It immediately made me curious. Everyone knows that politicians have been stretching the truth for some time. Yet, with the internet, it’s more prominent and the lies are starting to get blurry. While the book reveals that both sides lie, the data shows that the Republicans do it more.

I had no idea that there was a site that takes a look at what has been said and marks it as the truth, a false statement or somewhere in between. Since 2007, Journalist, Bill Adair has tracked lies from politicians and created PolitiFact that marks what is accurate. It’s a great resource for everyone that tries to keep honesty at the top of the bar.

Four years ago, Adair decided it was time to write this book to share results from years of research. It’s well written as he outlines the patterns of lying, the types of lies and briefly takes a look at presidents who have gone down in history with false statements. Johnson lied about the Vietnam war, Nixon resigned because of the Watergate lie, Clinton had a relationship with an intern, Trump tried to convince people Obama was born in Kenya. And, now there are many more lies in all forms.

This book makes you think about how truth matters in this digital age with information that travels quickly. We need politicians to be accountable with subjects like the climate crisis, public health issues, social security and international relations.

Adair takes readers into the lives of a handful of people that have been personally affected by lies that have been told. He asks: why do politicians lie and what are the consequences? He makes suggestions of a better way of communicating.

I applaud Adair for writing this book and hope everyone reads it. There are several quotes from sources that make you think about how lies make people distrust the government and how it threatens our democracy. Even if you don’t read political books, this is one that is current and affects us all.

My thanks to Atria Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of October 15, 2024.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book and that's my opinion.
Sad that facts & honesty are not valued by so many politicians today. More Republicsns than Democrats - and, that's a FACT.

[DJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Republicans lie worse and more. Yep. Also, there are more benefits to lying than there are consequences. Okay. Fox and Facebook are Misinformation and Disinformation central. Indeed.

A quick read, interesting, nothing new to see here that, anyone not already wallowing in the lies, already knows.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Few surprises since I've paid attention to our government (and especially my congressman who certainly questions what he doesn't lie about). Just sad so many think that lying and spreading misinformation (alternative facts!) is the way of choice.

[Mark Abersold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty scary, but fascinating read at the same time. The story of how Nina Jankowicz's life was upended by lies about her was particularly upsetting. I don't really know what the solution is to discourage politicians from lying - the author proposes a few, but I don't know if any of them will come to fruition. Ultimately, somebody pays price for lies, the question is who, and how soon.

[Gary Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Misinformation and political lying are serious challenges to our republic right now, a truth this book explains convincingly. In addition to establishing the problem, he shows how this has ruined the lives of Americans. These profiles are the best parts of the book, and are unforgettable. The last chapter provides some promising ideas about how the scourge of political lying can be addressed, and some things the press and individuals can do to combat it.

[Sourya Dey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and informative read, and very relevant in the current political climate. The book doesn't try to be polarizing, it just states facts that have been obtained via good journalism. I found the sections on 'why republicans lie more' to be very insightful, not because I am personally left- or right- leaning, but because they try to explain political leanings based on people's perceptions and the operational differences between the two major political parties in America.

I'd highly recommend this book to any reader who cares about facts and truths.

[Peter M. Vantine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too Many Case Studies

The book was very long on case studies and very short on wisdom. It could have been condensed into about five pages:

- One page saying that lying occurs.
- Two pages on some examples.
- Two pages on some possible remedies.

[Alan Oliveira · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It was eye-opening and even more shocking than I expected. I already knew there was a lot of misinformation, but reading about the extent of the lies—especially within the Republican Party—was disturbing. The book does a great job laying everything out in a clear, honest way. Definitely worth reading if you want to understand what’s really going on behind the scenes.

[Mister Mystery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book ever! Totally unbiased review! (I’m listed in the acknowledgements)

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bill Adair is the founder of the Pulitzer Prize-winning website PolitiFact and Knight Professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public Policy at Duke University, where he specializes in journalism and new media, with an emphasis on structured journalism and fact-checking. In this book, Adair seems to wrestle with a review of uncovering that all politicians lie and both parties lie, but the GOP lies more often, more seriously, and more glibly. How do you share that information without looking partisan? How do you share it in a way that is constructive and does not merely cause a defensive response?

Adair has experiences and ideas to relate, but nothing definitive. That's fine. Describing and admitting to a problem is an important first step. One problem Adair dances around is Trump, Trumpism, and the MAGA movement. He overtly says he is going to omit Trump, then uses "Trumpian" to describe the most epic of lies and dives into "The Big Lie" (in the title, even), Trump's lie about election fraud.

There are two overviews of historical events of interest here. One is the January 6 riots, based on a dive into participant testimony.

In the final days before Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in early 2023, the Democrats who controlled the January 6 committee released hundreds of transcripts, emails, and reports. Because Republicans planned to abolish the committee when they took over, the Democrats gave the documents to the U.S. Government Publishing Office, which posted them on a little-noticed website.

Scattered throughout the site were more than a dozen interviews with people who had invaded the Capitol or otherwise been involved in the insurrection. It took me some time to decipher the messy system for storing the transcripts—it was like the Democrats had tossed the transcripts in a closet as they were rushing to vacate an apartment—but I eventually identified the ones for the January 6 attackers. Individually and collectively, the interviews told a detailed story about the attackers’ backgrounds, education, occupations, sources of political information, and what motivated them to come to Washington to join Trump’s protest. The investigators were methodical and asked similar questions of each person.

As I compiled quotes of the attackers, two patterns emerged. One involved the social media that the insurrectionists used to connect with one another and get their political news. The investigators asked them if they relied on widely used platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram, and also asked about smaller apps and sites that were used by conservatives and the far right such as 4Chan, Gab, Truth Social (founded by Donald Trump), and Parler. But the transcripts revealed the smaller conservative sites were not popular with the people who stormed the Capitol. When the investigators asked about social media, they heard one answer over and over.

Facebook.

The investigators found a similar pattern when they asked about news sources. The January 6 attackers had some variety in the sites they used to keep up with politics—a few occasionally looked at the mainstream media and a couple of them said they even checked out the much-derided CNN—but there was one source that nearly every one mentioned.

Fox News.

I was able to dig up< a href="https://webharvest.gov/congress117th/... referred to testimony of rioter Eric Barber.

Also, intersecting with recent government testimony I watched, the tragic tale of How DHS's disinformation board fell victim to misinformation and Nina Jankowicz resigned as head of the Disinformation Governance Board at DHS after relentless attacks from conservatives, worn down in only 11 week. DHS put the board on pause. I watched Jankowicz ably defend her cause for shining light on misinforming politicians and online bullies:
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIMxS...
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsv66...

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Beyond the Big Lie is an extremely sobering/terrifying look at the devolution of American politics over the last years and what we can potentially do about it by Professor Bill Adair (creator of PolitiFact). Released 15th Oct 2024 by Simon & Schuster on their Atria imprint, it's 288 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

Anyone on the planet who has been paying even cursory attention to the last years has seen the progressive demise of politics in the USA and the relentless tide of chicanery, lying, dangerous rhetoric, and increasing violence (including stochastic terrorism). This is a remarkably balanced, sober judgement by an intelligent reasonable historian elucidating in accessible real language 1)what's going on, 2)where we've seen it before, 3)how to mitigate the worst of the damage (most of which has already come true, sadly), and 4) a constructive path, however tenuous (and scary) forward toward unity and healing.

The stakes have absolutely never been higher. Objective truth -must- begin to mean something as a currency of public discourse and it better happen PDQ or it's all going to be too late (literally). As I write these words, The GoP held a political rally last night (27th Oct. 2024) in Madison Square Gardens with chilling parallels to the infamous 1939 American Nazi rally in the exact same venue. The subjects ranged from insulting Americans of Puerto Rican heritage in the vilest manner imaginable to racist, misogynistic signals to an ever increasingly violent base. America must be better than this. The world must be better than this.

The book also includes a useful cross referenced index, and the well annotated chapter notes are likely worth the price of the book by themselves.

Five stars. One of the most horrifying reads of the year. Hope it's not too little, too late. Truth matters.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Paul Abernathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was interesting. It discussed lying in modern American politics in general, but spent much of its time talking about Republicans. It confirmed that (assuming their analysis is remotely correct and I suspect it is) Republicans do lie more than Democrats even when you don't count Trump's lies. It is weird for someone who was raised Republican and raised to believe the the news media is biased (so if they say we lie, that is because they are biased!), who identified as Republican for much of their adult life. It is weird to think about when Republicans generally claim to be the religious and moral party. But they have become infested with a number of sicknesses, one of which seems to be dishonesty. This book provides additional evidence in favor of my suspicions that the Republican party has gone nuts.

Some of it is boring. At one point it goes on and on about something Romney said in the 2012 campaign. Also, it spends a huge amount of time talking about one particular person who was employed in the Department of Homeland Security and victim of many Republican lies. I began to wonder why it spent so much time about her story, but I think it might be because the author decided to add some human stories or case studies and she was willing to talk with him. Either way, he could have spent less time on her particular case.

Maybe this was unreasonable, I was expecting a deeper psychological or political analysis that the book actually gave. In the end, as I remember it, the primary reason that Republican lie more seems to be two or three things. One is Newt Gingrich instilling a win at all costs culture, in addition to the idea that they are in a moral fight for the nation's soul providing an incentive to justify lying. The last reason is Trump. Trump creating a culture of lying as more and more people in the Republican party either emulate him for power or feel pressured to go along.

I feel that there is sort of an anti intellectual element in the Republican party but he didn't cover that very much. Some of that could be more in the realm of "accidental error" than intentional lying, but I think that anti intellectualism and shallow religion were there before the Trumpism and wacko conspiracy theories. So the Republicans are, overall, much less likely to say something true than the Democrats, who do not exactly set a very high bar.

[Mr. Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can also see this review, along with others I have written, at my blog, Mr. Book's Book Reviews.

Thank you, Atria Books, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Mr. Book just finished Beyond The Big Lie: The Epidemic of Political Lying, Why Republicans Do It More, and How It Could Down Our Democracy, by Bill Adair.

The author is the creator of PolitiFact, a fact checking website, and cofounder of the International Fact-Checking Network.

PolitiFact tracks the number of lies for each individual and the data proves that Republicans lie much more than Democrats. But, when asked about that on C-SPAN, the author had to lie and claim they didn’t keep track since he knew that Republicans would just cry about that and tell people not to trust them.

Among the highlights of this book was a look at the work of Nina Jankowicz, who headed a DHS project to expose disinformation and the Republicans’ reaction to that, as well the Lying Hall of Fame.

The chapter on ideas on how to deal with the problem presented a bunch of ideas that could work. That was also a big strength of the book.

I give this book a B+. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, a B+ equates to 4 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews

Mr. Book originally finished reading this on July 19, 2024.

[Daniel Kvick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jag är bara en vanlig svensk, och har ingen koppling till USA. Men de senaste åren har jag varit helt uppslukad av amerikansk politik, och i synnerhet nu sedan det amerikanska presidentvalet började dra igång.

Den här boken öppnar verkligen ögonen på en och får en att inse att även om både demokrater och republikaner ljuger så står republikanerna i en klass för sig. De ljuger oftare och de ljuger grövre, och det har blivit en identitet för dem. För dem är slutmålet att uppnå makt och styra USA mot ett mindre liberalt och mer konservativt och kristet land allt. Det spelar ingen roll att man ljuger mer och värre. Det republikaner och konservativa anhängare gjorde mot Nina Jenkovic är helt absurt och fruktansvärt. Allt hon och hennes nystartade myndighetsavdelning ville göra var att bekämpa desinformation och se till så att hela det amerikanska folket skulle få tillgång till trovärdig information. Men hon blev så attackerad och psykiskt misshandlad för att vilja stå upp för sanningen.

Jag hoppas verkligen, för amerikaners och för alla andra världsmedborgares skull att vi kan börja få politiker att sluta ljuga. Som Bill Adair säger flera gånger; att det måste kännas att ljuga. Det måste göra skada för den politikern eller mediepersonen som yttrar lögnen. Man ska inte kunna hävda att demokraterna stal valet 2020 eller att invandrare äter hundar och katter, eller att demokrater kontrollerar vädret och styr orkaner mot stater med många republikanska väljare, eller att vaccin är farligt och orsakar autism. Om man påstår sådana absurda saker så måste man få stå till svars för detta!

[Len Boselovic · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the journalistic fathers of fact checking is finally prepared to publicly admit that Republicans lie more than Democrats. Adair's book-length epiphany regarding the post-factual age plods over heavily trampled ground. Well before a majority of voters embraced a twice-impeached, four-time indicted, convicted felon, who didn't realize there are not only few consequences for lying, there are incentives? When a third of Americans still don't accept the outcome of the 202o election, who doesn't realize that fact checking has become immaterial to so many? Following journalism's construct of presenting both sides, on the one hand, Adair's solutions to the epidemic -- including lower ad rates for truthful politicians and giving truth tellers more time at debates -- are imaginative and well intentioned. On the other hand, they are hopelessly naive in today's environment. Adair contends "it's not a stretch" to imagine principled conservatives rallying around a pledge not to lie. Is it also then not a stretch to imagine principled Republicans standing up to Herr Drumpf's cabinet plans? I pray I'm wrong, but methinks it's kind of late in the game to merely worry about the possibility of lying burning down our democracy.

[Gerry Durisin · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I appreciate the thought and the research that went into this book, I can't say I enjoyed reading it. Adair, the founder of Politi-Fact, writes in a rather pedantic and long-winded style that's not particularly enticing to the reader. And in this time of political division, it's no surprise that his conclusions are depressing: virtually all politicians lie, but in general, Republicans lie more often and more blatantly than Democrats, and they get away with it because they're actually better at it. They've trained journalists to give them breaks in order to appear fair and unbiased ("playing the ref," it's called) and trained us readers/listeners to be skeptical of pretty much everything unless it comes from favored sources. His solution? more fact-checking, a "non-partisan" data base to which citizens could turn to find truth, and more incentives for politicians to tell the truth. Sadly, it all sounds rather idealistic and pie-in-the-sky to me. And I suspect the rise of A.I. will only exacerbate the problem.

Thank you to the publisher and #NetGalley for providing a free ARC in exchange for an objective review.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had seen Bill Adair on The Daily Show and found what he was talking about interesting, so I wanted to give his book a read and learn more. It was really fascinating to learn why politicians lie, and some lie more than others. It was also interesting to learn that it is much harder to combat the lies in this day and age along with the media holding people accountable. Also, with all the technology today these liars use it to their advantage because the online marketplace doesn't really enforce factchecking or pushing the truth. They sit more in the realm of freedom of speech. Without these lies in check they continue to divide this country more and more. The main take away is that politicians need to be held more accountable and stop with the ridiculous lies that continue to divide this country and the media as well as these sites such as facebook and X need to find an acceptable way to stop these lies from growing.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC in return for my honest review.

#NetGalley #BeyondtheBigLie

[Richard L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book's subtitle says it all.

But it's another case of too little, too late.

It's up to the individual reader if they wish to give the author credit for his admission that he could have stated the obvious at an earlier point in time: one political party has lied far more frequently and far more egregiously than the other political party, with far more damaging effects on their country's economy, society, culture, and community.

Like many (most) books in this vein, the closing chapters offer a number of "prescriptions" for the ongoing epidemic of political lying - which is already worse in the U.S. than almost any other democratic nation in the world. Most of these prescriptions seem unrealistic or unlikely or both, particularly in light of the 2024 election's results.

But this book's existence remains necessary, perhaps even important. If nothing else, one more historical record of a country's steady slide into political, economic, cultural, and moral ruin.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fairly quick read, illuminating as to how the right lies more. In particular, I found the concept of "working the ref" to be informative. He explains that the right consistently decries fact-checking as censorship on free speech and acts as though it is unfair that they are fact-checked more (without acknowledging that it is because they lie more). This leads to individuals and organizations becoming more tentative to call out their behaviour.

The lack of regulation of social media and news outlets is addressed as well, including real world examples of the harm it has cause on individual lives.

I am wholly terrified of the mis- and disinformation that is allowed to flourish in our society. I hope that more of us become informed by this book and others, so that we feel more emboldened to speak up.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good and interesting read with plenty of sources and receipts to back up claims. This book goes into detail about the republican party’s frequent lies and the way republican politicians and other prominent figures (Fox News, radio shows etc) “wear lying as a badge of honor” and how they get away with it because they have manipulated their supporters so much that they know they will still get their support no matter what they say. It details how this came to be, the tactics used to manipulate, and the way they have fought to dismantle any system that would check them. There are multiple interviews with republican figures in this book, and almost every single one admits that lying is a major part of being a conservative. Being a republican is no longer about integrity. It’s simply about winning and doing whatever is necessary to win, right or wrong.

[Jen Chaffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like 4-1/2 stars.
I learned of this book when the author was interviewed by John Stewart on the Daily Show. As someone with strong interest in what we can do about our major epidemic of mis and dis information, particularly when it comes to political discourse, I knew I’d want to read about the research that talks about this phenomenon. The most distressing part is that those who have reason to not believe in fact checking. IE, those who lie the most and don’t want others to know, are the ones who dismiss this information as untrue or refer to misinformation with quotes around it to minimize or diminish its validity.
I loved the case studies and stories of real people and how lies and lying has impacted them and their careers.

[Steven Tone · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Beyond the Big Lie" by Bill Adair comments on the challenges that truth-tellers face in today's polarized media landscape, where political lying has become more strategic and widespread, and unscrupulous news media and politicians destroy the lives of honest people for political and financial gain. The numbers show that Democrats lie, but Republicans lie more—a lot more. It is an essential read for those concerned about the integrity of information and the future of democratic systems​. This book also focuses on how fact-checking can help curb this misinformation, though Adair indicates that the problem will not yield to an easy solution.

[Joseph Pretorius · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a professor of law in South Africa. I found the book to be disappointing in that much of the book was written with the author more of less the central figure. It is very difficult to verify the truth and substance of the interviews. I do not think the author is objective. As an outsider I am definitely not a Trump supporter (not that it matters) but I think it is quite obvious that the author is also not a supporter of Trump. Trump is a narcissist and he is very flexible with the truth. He certainly is not a nice human being. Surely there must be a way to verify that people are not eating cats and dogs?

[Jc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adair, founder of Politifact and creator of the "Truth-O-Meter," gives us this fascinating study on direct lies and other stretchings of the truth in American politics. This is a must read for anyone trying to understand the games and manipulations used by politicians of all stripes. Central to the book is the question long avoided by PolitiFact and the press in general – are there differences in how the major parties use lies, disinformation, and misinformation, and if so, how to those differences affect the running of our elections and our governments. This is a must read – even after the current election.

[Brenda Kochis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lying seems to be the "norm" especially in political life. Not only is disinformation and misinformation a perfected art, but it is very damaging. Bill Adair calls out the lies that have been perpetuated and even has some information about the damage it does to specific individuals. He does offer some solutions, but honestly, I just don't see this diminishing any time soon. It is so sad that not only are we deprived of correct information, but there are concerted attaches on individuals who want the truth to be out there.
For those seeking truth, I would recommend reading this book. It is eye opening.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the title and cover, this isn’t a book about Trump. It’s a non-partisan look at political lying, so he is featured, but this problem didn’t start with him, of course. It does feel a bit silly reading this in November 2024. We’re now firmly living in the alternate reality created by these mendacious hucksters and the toothless solutions in this book—honesty pledges and debate reform—feel hilariously naive in the face of mass delusion.

[Danielle Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read, but at times I kind of zoned out. There wasn't any huge revelations that wasn't already pretty abundantly clear (all politicians lie, but Republicans lie more frequently, and media/journalists largely allow them to get away with it.) I liked that Adair also includes suggestions on how to address the issue, but I unfortunately think in our current political landscape, it'd be too little too late.