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    Commentary: A history of the ‘Big Lie,’ from Plato to TikTok

    A long time ago, a respected social critic expressed concern that a new medium would lead to lying. The year was 375 BCE, the critic was Plato and the still relatively new medium was the written word, which, despite his many reservations, he used to circulate his oral dialogues with Socrates. Today, we’re again worried about the power of new media to facilitate lying. This time, it’s the ...
    by Mark Kurlansky, Los Angeles Times Sep 16, 2022 4 minutes
    Father Charles Coughlin on April 15, 1933.

    A long time ago, a respected social critic expressed concern that a new medium would lead to lying.

    The year was 375 BCE, the critic was Plato and the still relatively new medium was the written word, which, despite his many reservations, he used to circulate his oral dialogues with Socrates.

    Today, we’re again worried about the power of new media to facilitate lying. This time, it’s the internet, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok. But if you look back at history, lying is as old as humans (older really, since some animals practice deception). And every advance in communication down through history has facilitated it.

    Plato, though he was concerned about

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