How liars create the illusion of truth

By Tom Stafford – 26 October 2016 Repetition makes a fact seem more true, regardless of whether it is or not. Understanding this effect can help you avoid falling for propaganda, says psychologist Tom Stafford. “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth”, is a law of propaganda often attributed to the Nazi Joseph Goebbels. Among psychologists something like this known as the “illusion of truth” effect. Here’s how a on the effect works: participants rate how true trivia items are, things like “A prune is a dried plum”.…