Leadership, “Reputation Matters,” Forbes, July 6, 2025
Most Americans lie at least one to four times each day research shows, and about 60% of people 18 and older can’t have a conversation without lying every ten minutes.
And that is just in personal life. In business and politics, we all know that lying, exaggerating, bluffing, and disinformation campaigns are common. Sometimes disinformation campaigns are even seen as good business; they certainly can be effective and compelling. Duke professor Dan Ariely reports that “creative personalities tended to cheat more than less creative individuals.”
Lies are more blatant, more easily believed and far more easily weaponized than ever before.
While much lying is benign, and centered around not wanting to disappoint, in today’s viral social media world, lies are more blatant, more easily believed and far more easily weaponized. Disinformation — the purposeful bending of, or negating, the truth — is used to destroy reputations, shatter trust, change political regimes, win at all costs, and muddy our distinctions between what is real and true, and what is blatantly false and biased.
Disinformation has proven difficult to define, understand, and measure, let alone address.
In fact, the response to disinformation, both personal and corporate, can make or break a reputation and a leader. Here are 8 lessons to consider the next time you or your company are targeted with a disinformation campaign… […read more]