The Liars We Elect

We live in a time when known liars like Donald Trump—labeled “Liar of the Year” in 2015—can be elected president twice, suggesting that many no longer care whether leaders tell the truth. But while the public grows indifferent to lies, those in power are paying closer attention to what we say than ever before. Across the world, from the U.S. to Russia to the U.K., the wrong word, tone, or placard can trigger real consequences—detention, deportation, or unannounced visits from police. The danger isn’t just that truth no longer matters in politics; it’s that our silence in the face of lies is feeding a system that increasingly punishes dissent.