View source for Big lie

{{Short description|Propaganda technique}}
{{other uses|Big Lie (disambiguation)}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
[[File:Hitler as young man.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|[[Adolf Hitler]] in 1923|class=notpageimage]]

A '''big lie''' ({{langx|de|große Lüge}}) is a gross distortion or misrepresentation of the [[truth]] primarily used as a political [[propaganda technique]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Big Lie {{!}} Definition of The Big Lie by Oxford Dictionary on Lexico.com also meaning of The Big Lie|url=https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/the_big_lie|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122050327/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/the_big_lie|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 January 2021|access-date=2021-01-17|website=Lexico Dictionaries {{!}} English|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Definition of Big Lie|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/big+lie|access-date=2021-06-13|website=[[Merriam-Webster]]}}</ref> The German expression was first used by [[Adolf Hitler]] in his book ''[[Mein Kampf]]'' (1925) to describe how people could be induced to believe so colossal a lie because they would not believe that someone "could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously". Hitler claimed that the technique had been used by [[Jews]] to blame Germany's loss in {{nowrap|[[World War I]]}} on German general [[Erich Ludendorff]], who was a prominent [[German nationalism|nationalist]] political leader in the [[Weimar Republic]].

According to historian [[Jeffrey Herf]], the [[Nazis]] used the idea of the original big lie to turn sentiment against Jews and justify [[the Holocaust]]. Herf maintains that [[Nazi Germany]]'s chief [[Propaganda in Nazi Germany|propagandist]] [[Joseph Goebbels]] and the [[Nazi Party]] actually [[Accusation in a mirror|used the big lie technique that they described]]{{snd}}and that they used it to turn long-standing [[antisemitism in Europe]] into [[mass murder]]. Herf further argues that the Nazis' big lie was their depiction of Germany as an innocent, besieged nation striking back at "[[international Jewry]]", which the Nazis blamed for starting {{nowrap|[[World War I]]}}. [[Nazi propaganda]] repeatedly claimed that Jews held outsized and secret power in Britain, Russia, and the United States. It further spread claims that the Jews had begun a [[Jewish war conspiracy theory|war of extermination against Germany]], and used these to assert that Germany had a right to annihilate the Jews in self-defense.

In the 21st century, the term has been applied to [[Donald Trump]]'s and his allies' [[attempts to overturn the result of the 2020 U.S. presidential election]], specifically the false claim that the election was stolen through massive voter and [[electoral fraud]]. The scale of the claims resulted in Trump supporters [[January 6 United States Capitol attack|attacking the United States Capitol]].<ref name="NYT-20210110" /><ref name="NYT-20210131" /> Later reports indicate that Trump knew he had genuinely lost the election while promoting the narrative.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-admitted-he-lost-election-aide_n_62afe3f7e4b0cf43c858d89e|title=Trump Knew He Lost The Election Before He Decided He Didn't, Says Aide|date=20 June 2022|website=HuffPost}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Washington Post|title=Trump sought to lead armed mob to Capitol on Jan. 6, aide says|date=June 28, 2022|author=Mike DeBonis and Jacqueline Alemany|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/06/28/trump-sought-lead-armed-mob-capitol-jan-6-aide-says/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/12/jan-6-live-news-panel-to-probe-trump-link-to-far-right-agitators|title=Jan 6 panel pushes to link Trump to Capitol violence – a timeline|first1=Ali |last1=Harb |first2=Jennifer |last2=Glasse |website=www.aljazeera.com|date=12 July 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/6192383/donald-trump-knew-jan-6-hearings/|title=What Trump Knew|magazine=Time}}</ref> Scholars{{who|date=September 2025}} say that constant repetition across many different forms of media is necessary for the success of the big lie technique, as is a psychological motivation for the public to believe the extreme assertions.

==Nazi Germany==

=== Hitler's description ===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-2005-0828-525 Erich Ludendorff (cropped)(b).jpg|thumb|upright|left|Hitler claimed that [[Jews]] had spread the "big lie" that General [[Erich Ludendorff]] (pictured) was responsible for the country's loss in {{nowrap|[[World War I]]}}.]]

Hitler's definition is given in Chapter 10 of [[Adolf Hitler]]'s ''[[Mein Kampf]]'' (part of a single paragraph in both the German original and [[James Vincent Murphy|James Murphy]]'s translation):

{{blockquote|text=But it remained for the Jews, with their unqualified capacity for falsehood, and their fighting comrades, the Marxists, to impute responsibility for the downfall precisely to the man who alone had shown a superhuman will and energy in his effort to prevent the catastrophe which he had foreseen and to save the nation from that hour of complete overthrow and shame. By placing responsibility for the loss of the world war on the shoulders of [[Erich Ludendorff|Ludendorff]] they took away the weapon of moral right from the only adversary dangerous enough to be likely to succeed in bringing the betrayers of the Fatherland to Justice.

All this was inspired by the principle{{snd}}which is quite true within itself{{snd}}that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods.

It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying.|sign=Adolf Hitler|source=''Mein Kampf'', vol. I, ch. X<ref name="mein-kampf-james-murphy">{{cite book|last=Hitler|first=Adolf|title=Mein Kampf|url=http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200601.txt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724025441/http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200601.txt|archive-date=24 July 2008|url-status=live|translator-first=James |translator-last=Murphy|via=[[Project Gutenberg]]|date=March 21, 1939|access-date=2008-08-23}}</ref>}}

In 1943, ''[[The New York Times]]'' contributor Edwin James asserted that Hitler's biggest lie was his revisionist claim that Germany was not defeated in war in 1918, but rather was betrayed by internal groups.<ref name="NYT-19430411">{{cite news|last=James|first=Edwin L.|date=11 April 1943|title=Hitler's Biggest Lie; The Fuehrer's lies are legion and colossal; his biggest is that Germany was not beaten in 1918. Hitler may be planning to use that lie again. Whatever Hitler's purpose in taking up the lie of an undefeated Germany, the record of the collapse is clear. Hitler's Biggest Lie|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1943/04/11/archives/hitlers-biggest-lie-the-fuehrers-lies-are-legion-and-colossal-his.html|access-date=6 December 2020}}</ref> This [[stab-in-the-back myth]] was spread by right-wing groups, including the [[Nazis]].<ref name="NYT-20201130">{{cite news|last=Bittner|first=Jochen|date=November 30, 2020|title=1918 Germany Has a Warning for America – Donald Trump's "Stop the Steal" campaign recalls one of the most disastrous political lies of the 20th century.|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/30/opinion/trump-conspiracy-germany-1918.html|access-date=February 3, 2021}}</ref>

=== In enacting the Holocaust ===
According to historian [[Jeffrey Herf]], the Nazis used the idea of the original big lie to turn sentiment against Jews and justify [[the Holocaust]]. Herf maintains that [[Joseph Goebbels]] and the [[Nazi Party]] actually used the big lie technique that they described{{snd}}and that they used it to turn long-standing [[antisemitism in Europe]] into [[mass murder]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Herf|first=Jeffrey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T3EZ50uDlSoC&pg=PA211|title=The Jewish Enemy: Nazi Propaganda During World War II And the Holocaust|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0674038592|location=Cambridge, MA|page=211}}</ref> Herf further argues that the Nazis' big lie was their depiction of Germany as an innocent, besieged land striking back at [[international Jewry]], which the Nazis blamed for starting {{nowrap|World War I}}. [[Nazi propaganda]] repeatedly claimed that Jews held power behind the scenes in Britain, Russia, and the United States. It further spread claims that the Jews had begun a [[Jewish war conspiracy theory|war of extermination against Germany]], and used these to assert that Germany had a right to annihilate the Jews in self-defense.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Herf|first1=Jeffrey|year=2005|title=The "Jewish War": Goebbels and the Antisemitic Campaigns of the Nazi Propaganda Ministry|journal=Holocaust and Genocide Studies|volume=19|pages=51–80|doi=10.1093/hgs/dci003}}</ref>

The [[Cold War]] historian Zachary Jonathan Jacobson describes its use:<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jacobson |first1=Zachary Jonathan |title=Many are worried about the return of the 'Big Lie.' They're worried about the wrong thing. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/05/21/many-are-worried-about-the-return-of-the-big-lie-theyre-worried-about-the-wrong-thing/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=21 May 2018}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|<p>Adolf Hitler first defined the Big Lie as a deviant tool wielded by Viennese Jews to discredit the Germans' deportment in {{nowrap|World War I}}. Yet, in tragically ironic fashion, it was Hitler and his Nazi regime that actually employed the mendacious strategy. In an effort to rewrite history and blame European Jews for Germany's defeat in {{nowrap|World War I}}, Hitler and his propaganda minister accused them of profiting from the war, consorting with foreign powers and "war shirking" (avoiding conscription). Jews, Hitler contended, were the weak underbelly of the Weimer state that exposed the loyal and true German population to catastrophic collapse. To sell this narrative, Joseph Goebbels insisted "all effective propaganda must be limited to a very few points and must harp on these in slogans until the last member of the public understands."</p><p>In short, Nazi [[fascism]] hinged on creating one streamlined, overarching lie{{spaces}}... the Nazis built an ideology on a fiction, the notion that Germany's defeat in {{nowrap|World War I}} could be avenged (and reversed) by purging the German population of those purportedly responsible: the Jews.</p>}}

=== Goebbels's description ===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-17049, Joseph Goebbels spricht.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Joseph Goebbels]], the head of Nazi Germany's [[Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda|Ministry of Propaganda]]]]

Joseph Goebbels also put forth a theory which has come to be commonly associated with the expression "big lie". Goebbels wrote the following paragraph in an article dated 12 January 1941, sixteen years after Hitler first used the phrase. The article, titled "Aus Churchills Lügenfabrik" (English: "From Churchill's Lie Factory") was published in ''Die Zeit ohne Beispiel:''

{{blockquote|The essential English leadership secret does not depend on particular intelligence. Rather, it depends on a remarkably stupid thick-headedness. The English follow the principle that when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it. They keep up their lies, even at the risk of looking ridiculous.<ref>{{cite book |first=Joseph |last=Goebbels |date=12 January 1941 |title=Die Zeit ohne Beispiel |location=Munich |publisher=Zentralverlag der NSDAP |pages=364–369 |quote=Das ist natürlich für die Betroffenen mehr als peinlich. Man soll im allgemeinen seine Führungsgeheimnisse nicht verraten, zumal man nicht weiß, ob und wann man sie noch einmal gut gebrauchen kann. Das haupt-sächlichste englische Führungsgeheimnis ist nun nicht so sehr in einer besonders hervorstechenden Intelligenz als vielmehr in einer manchmal geradezu penetrant wirkenden dummdreisten Dickfelligkeit zu finden. Die Engländer gehen nach dem Prinzip vor, wenn du lügst, dann lüge gründlich, und vor allem bleibe bei dem, was du gelogen hast! Sie bleiben also bei ihren Schwindeleien, selbst auf die Gefahr hin, sich damit lächerlich zu machen.}}</ref>}}

==== Alleged quotation ====
The following supposed quotation of Joseph Goebbels has been repeated in numerous books and articles and on thousands of web pages, yet none of them has cited a primary source. According to the research and reasoning of Randall Bytwerk, it is an unlikely thing for Goebbels to have said:<ref>{{cite web|last=Bytwerk|first=Randall|date=2008|title=False Nazi Quotations|url=https://www.bytwerk.com/gpa/falsenaziquotations.htm|access-date=2 April 2021|work=German Propaganda Archive}}</ref>
{{blockquote|If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.}}

===U.S. psychological profile of Hitler===
The phrase "big lie" was used in a report prepared around 1943<ref name="Gatzke">[https://www.scribd.com/doc/144907112/Hitler-and-Psychohistory Hitler and Psychohistory] [[Hans W. Gatzke]], ''[[The American Historical Review]]'', Vol. 78, No. 2 (Apr., 1973), pp. 394–401.</ref> by [[Walter C. Langer]] for the United States [[Office of Strategic Services]] in describing Hitler's psychological profile. The report was later published in book form as ''[[The Mind of Adolf Hitler]]'' in 1972. Langer stated of the dictator:

<blockquote>His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it.<ref name="oss_profile">{{cite web|last=Langer|first=Walter C.|author-link=Walter Charles Langer|title=A Psychological Analysis of Adolph Hitler|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP78-02646R000600240001-5.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801092323/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP78-02646R000600240001-5.pdf|archive-date=2020-08-01|access-date=2022-01-28|website=[[CIA.gov]]|page=46}}</ref></blockquote>

A somewhat similar quote appears in the 1943 ''Analysis of the Personality of Adolph Hitler: With Predictions of His Future Behaviour and Suggestions for Dealing with Him Now and After Germany's Surrender'', by [[Henry A. Murray]]:

<blockquote>... never to admit a fault or wrong; never to accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time; blame that enemy for everything that goes wrong; take advantage of every opportunity to raise a political whirlwind.<ref>{{cite web|title=Analysis of the Personality of Adolf Hitler|url=https://archive.org/details/AnalysisThePersonalityofAdolphHitler/page/n229/mode/2up|url-status=live|access-date=17 January 2018|website=|page=219|publisher=Office of Strategic Services |format=PDF|via=archive.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111064106/https://archive.org/details/AnalysisThePersonalityofAdolphHitler/page/n229/mode/2up |archive-date=11 January 2021 }}</ref></blockquote>

=== Hitler's death ===
A 1947 U.S. book on the [[death of Adolf Hitler]] describes the infectious Soviet disinformation concerning [[Conspiracy theories about Adolf Hitler's death|his purported survival]] as an example of the technique, nodding to German philosopher [[Hans Vaihinger]]'s 1911 book ''[[The Philosophy of 'As&nbsp;if']]'', which ponders the acceptance of lies for utilitarian purposes. The U.S. book asserts that Soviet leadership, "realizing that Communist totalitarian systems and secret police methods require a continuing menace as justification for their existence, decided to keep the ghost of Hitler alive ...&nbsp;as a means of dramatizing the continuing menace of Fascism", bolstering their military.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Who Killed Hitler? |date=1947 |publisher=The Booktab Press |others=W.&nbsp;F. Heimlich (foreword) |editor-last=Moore |editor-first=Herbert |location=New York |pages=131, 136, 138 |quote=So well has the plan worked that few people can now be found anywhere who are convinced that Hitler is dead. It is one more example of the fine art of falsehood and half-truth which the Germans under Goebbels perfected with such bewildering success. It is still another example of the dependable results that can be obtained by psychological strategists in totalitarian countries who can at will use the technique of the notorious 'Philosophy of the As&nbsp;If' in spreading gigantic lies. By such techniques, they are able to influence vast numbers of people to ''disbelieve'' the truth long after the facts and circumstances have been authenticated. |editor-last2=Barrett |editor-first2=James W.}}</ref>

In [[The Death of Adolf Hitler|his controversial 1968 book]], Soviet historian Lev Bezymenski cites the initial announcement of Hitler's death by Nazi Germany as an example of the big lie, as it claimed him to have died while acting as a soldier in the line of duty.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bezymenski |first=Lev |author-link=The Death of Adolf Hitler |url=https://archive.org/details/deathofadolfhitl0000unse_c0c9 |title=The Death of Adolf Hitler |publisher=[[Harcourt, Brace & World]] |year=1968 |edition=1st |location=New York |pages=68–69}}</ref>

== United States ==
===Cold War===
A 1964 [[Senate Internal Security Subcommittee]] report on ''[[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion]]'', a fabricated antisemitic text first published in Russia in 1903, stated that continued circulation of the ''Protocols'' could be attributed in part to utilization of "the Hitler technique of the 'big lie'".<ref>{{cite report |title=Protocols of the Elders of Zion: A Fabricated 'historic' Document |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NoLXxwEACAAJ |publisher=U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act |year = 1964 |access-date=22 February 2022}}</ref>

=== By Republicans ===
The term has been used by prominent American right-wing figures to describe allegations that Trump's victory in the 2016 elections was the result of collusion between his campaign and Russia. Former Attorney General [[William Barr]] described those allegations as "a very damaging, big lie" that inhibited the administration's ability to properly deal with [[Vladimir Putin]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/media/bill-barr-russia-collusion-trump-dealing-putin|title=Bill Barr: 'Big lie' about Russian collusion tied Trump's hands in dealing with Putin|first=Joshua|last=Nelson|date=9 March 2022|website=Fox News}}</ref> a sentiment also echoed by Former House Speaker [[Newt Gingrich]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/collusion-lie-russia-china-mueller-threat-1392116|title=Newt Gingrich: The true cost of the collusion lie &#124; Opinion|date=10 April 2019|website=Newsweek}}</ref>

By early 2021, Trump and several prominent Republicans started to use the term "the big lie", claiming that it refers to other electoral issues.<ref name="WaPo-20210405">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/05/conservatives-try-commandeer-big-lie/|title=Conservatives try to commandeer 'the big lie'|last=Blake|first=Aaron|date=5 April 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=5 May 2021}}</ref> Trump stated that the term refers to the "Fraudulent Presidential Election of 2020".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Morgan|first=David|date=3 May 2021|title=Trump 'poisoning' democracy with 'big lie' claim – key House Republican|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-poisoning-democracy-with-big-lie-claim-key-house-republican-2021-05-03/|website=Reuters|access-date=7 June 2021}}</ref> An opinion piece in the typically [[Centre-right politics|center-right]] ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'',<ref>{{cite web|last=Bowden|first=John|date=January 11, 2019|title=Wall Street Journal editorial: Conservatives 'could live to regret' Trump emergency declaration|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/424877-wall-street-journal-editorial-conservatives-could-live-to-regret-trump|access-date=2022-02-08|website=The Hill}}</ref> as well as Republican politicians [[Mitch McConnell]] and Newt Gingrich, referred to "the big lie" as [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] opposition to what were new and more restrictive [[Voter identification laws in the United States|voter identification requirements]].<ref name="WaPo-20210405" /> McConnell's office referred to a Democratic attempt to abolish the [[Filibuster in the United States Senate|filibuster]] to enact voting rights legislation as "the left's Big Lie [that] there is some evil anti-voting conspiracy sweeping America".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Schnell|first=Mychael|date=2022-01-10|title=McConnell's office knocks Democrats over 'the left's Big Lie'|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/588966-mcconnells-office-knocks-democrats-over-the-lefts-big-lie|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-11|website=The Hill|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110135419/https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/588966-mcconnells-office-knocks-democrats-over-the-lefts-big-lie |archive-date=10 January 2022 }}</ref> [[Timothy Snyder]] describes attempts to invert the narrative:

<blockquote>The lie is so big that it reorders the world. And so part of telling the big lie is that you immediately say it's the other side that tells the big lie. Sadly, but it's just a matter of record, all of that is in ''Mein Kampf''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Block |first1=Melissa |title=The clear and present danger of Trump's enduring 'Big Lie' |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/12/23/1065277246/trump-big-lie-jan-6-election |publisher=National Public Radio |date=December 23, 2021 |access-date=2021-12-23}}</ref></blockquote>

By January 2022, Republicans were taking actions to impose new voting restrictions and to take complete control of voting and the administrative management of elections, all while a large majority of Republicans continued to believe that the 2020 election had been stolen from them and asserted that democracy was at risk of failing. Extensive press coverage indicated the Republican efforts themselves appeared to present a threat to democracy.<ref>Multiple sources:

* {{Cite news |last=Corasaniti |first=Nick |date=March 24, 2021 |title=Republicans Aim to Seize More Power Over How Elections Are Run |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/us/politics/republicans-election-laws.html}}
* {{Cite web |date=April 20, 2021 |title=GOP lawmakers seek greater control over local elections |url=https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-politics-legislature-local-elections-bills-73b331234cec8c966bb2308f6ed1696e |publisher=Associated Press}}
* {{Cite web |last=Epstein |first=Reid J. |date=November 19, 2021 |title=Wisconsin Republicans Push to Take Over the State's Elections |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/19/us/politics/wisconsin-republicans-decertify-election.html |work=The New York Times}}
* {{cite news |author1=Amy Gardner |author2=Tom Hamburger |author3=Josh Dawsey |date=November 29, 2021 |title=Trump allies work to place supporters in key election posts across the country, spurring fears about future vote challenges |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-allies-election-oversight/2021/11/28/3933b3ce-4227-11ec-9ea7-3eb2406a2e24_story.html}}
* {{cite news |author1=Jennifer Medina |author2=Nick Corasaniti |author3=Reid J. Epstein |date=January 30, 2022 |title=Campaigning to Oversee Elections, While Denying the Last One |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/30/us/politics/election-deniers-secretary-of-state.html}}
* {{cite news |date=January 3, 2022 |title=6 in 10 Americans say U.S. democracy is in crisis as the 'Big Lie' takes root |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/01/03/1069764164/american-democracy-poll-jan-6}}
* {{cite news |date=December 15, 2021 |title=In Bid for Control of Elections, Trump Loyalists Face Few Obstacles |work=New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/11/us/politics/trust-in-elections-trump-democracy.html}}
* {{cite news |date=September 16, 2021 |title=Trump's Big Lie is changing the face of American politics |publisher=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/16/politics/trump-big-lie-gop-election/index.html}}
* {{cite news |date=January 13, 2022 |title=Trump loyalists form alliance in bid to take over election process in key states |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/13/trump-loyalists-secretary-of-state-candidates |quote=The disclosure that extremist Republicans dedicated to election subversion have formed a network was first revealed by Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist in the White House who is spearheading a “precinct-by-precinct” movement to inject far-right activists into local elected office. Marchant disclosed the alliance on Bannon’s War Room podcast. The revelation can only heighten jitters about the fragile state of American democracy. An NPR analysis of 2022 secretary of state races across the country found that at least 15 candidates have adopted Trump’s big lie.}}</ref>

===2020 stolen election claims{{anchor|Donald Trump's false claims of a stolen election}}===
{{further|Republican reactions to Donald Trump's claims of 2020 election fraud|2020 United States presidential election#False claims of fraud}}

{{see also|Trumpism|False or misleading statements by Donald Trump|Rhetoric of Donald Trump}}
[[File:Donald Trump Pennsylvania 2016.jpg|thumb|upright|Donald Trump]]
[[File:20210609 Trump lies, statements after leaving office - horizontal bar chart.svg|thumb|According to [[CNN]] [[Fact-checking|fact checker]] [[Daniel Dale]], as of June 9, 2021, former president Donald Trump had issued 132 written statements since leaving office, of which "a third have included lies about the election"{{snd}}more than any other subject.<ref name=CNN_20210612>{{cite news |last1=Dale |first1=Daniel |title=Trump is doing more lying about the election than talking about any other subject |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/12/politics/analysis-trump-election-lies-blog-post-presidency |work=CNN |date=June 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616191647/https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/12/politics/analysis-trump-election-lies-blog-post-presidency |archive-date=June 16, 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=16 September 2024 }} Similar graphic in source attributed to Janie Boschma, CNN.</ref>]]
[[File:20240524 Trump groundwork for election denial.svg|thumb|To sow election doubt, Trump escalated use of "rigged election" and "election interference" statements in advance of the 2024 election compared to the previous two elections—the statements described as part of a "heads I win; tails you cheated" rhetorical strategy.<ref name=NYTimes_20240524>{{cite news|last1=Yourish|first1=Karen|last2=Smart|first2=Charlie|title=Trump's Pattern of Sowing Election Doubt Intensifies in 2024|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/05/24/us/politics/trump-election-results-doubt.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=May 24, 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240524231457/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/05/24/us/politics/trump-election-results-doubt.html|archive-date=May 24, 2024|url-status=live |access-date=16 September 2024 }}</ref>]]

During his political career, U.S. president [[Donald Trump]] has employed what have been characterized as the [[firehose of falsehood]]<ref>Multiple sources:
* {{Cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/30/media/trump-election-confusion-reliable-sources/index.html |title='Firehose of falsehood:' How Trump is trying to confuse the public about the election outcome|first1=Brian |last1=Stelter |website=CNN |date=November 30, 2020 |access-date=16 September 2024 }}
* {{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/2018/8/31/17804104/strikethrough-lies-propaganda-trump-putin|title=Why obvious lies make great propaganda|first=Carlos |last=Maza |work=[[Vox (website)|Vox]] |date=August 31, 2018 |access-date=16 September 2024 }}
* {{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/donald-trump-campaigns-firehose-of-falsehoods-has-parallels-with-russian-propaganda-20160809-gqo044.html |title=Donald Trump campaign's 'firehose of falsehoods' has parallels with Russian propaganda |first=Chris |last=Zappone |date=October 12, 2016 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=16 September 2024 }}
* {{Cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/5cea69f0-7d44-424e-a121-78a21564ca35 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/5cea69f0-7d44-424e-a121-78a21564ca35 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=What magic teaches us about misinformation |first=Tim |last=Harford |date=May 6, 2021 |work=Financial Times |access-date=16 September 2024 }}
* {{Cite web|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/08/trump-nonstop-lies/|title=Trump's nonstop lies may be a far darker problem than many realize|first=Denise|last=Clifton|work=Mother Jones|date=August 3, 2017 |access-date=16 September 2024 }}
* {{Cite web |first=Lindsey |last=Ellefson |access-date=16 September 2024 |url=https://www.thewrap.com/morning-joe-propaganda-covid/|title='Morning Joe' Rips Trump for 'Firehose of Falsehoods' and 'Nazi-Like Propaganda' on COVID|work=TheWrap|date=December 17, 2020}}</ref> and big lie<ref name="Block_1/16/2021" /> propaganda techniques. To support his [[attempts to overturn the 2020 U.S. presidential election]], he and his allies repeatedly and falsely claimed that there had been massive [[election fraud]] and that Trump was the true winner of the election.<ref name="NYT-20201130" /><ref name="NYT-20210110">{{cite news|last=Higgins|first=Andrew|date=January 10, 2021|title=The Art of the Lie? The Bigger the Better – Lying as a political tool is hardly new. But a readiness, even enthusiasm, to be deceived has become a driving force in politics around the world, most recently in the United States.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/10/world/europe/trump-truth-lies-power.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=January 10, 2021|quote=Mr. Trump has outraged his political opponents and left even some of his longtime supporters shaking their heads at his mendacity. In embracing this big lie, however, the president has taken a path that often works{{snd}}at least in countries without robustly independent legal systems and news media along with other reality checks.}}</ref> By 2023, major news outlets characterized Trump's claims as not merely falsehoods, but as lies.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Yoon |first1=Robert |title=Trump's drumbeat of lies about the 2020 election keeps getting louder. Here are the facts |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-2020-election-lies-debunked-4fc26546b07962fdbf9d66e739fbb50d |work=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=16 September 2024 |date=August 27, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Qiu |first1=Linda |title=Fact-Checking the Breadth of Trump's Election Lies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/17/us/politics/trump-election-lies-fact-check.html |access-date=16 September 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=August 17, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Dale |first1=Daniel |author-link=Daniel Dale |date=August 3, 2023 |title=21 Donald Trump election lies listed in his new indictment |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/02/politics/trump-indictment-lies/index.html |work=CNN |access-date=16 September 2024 }}</ref>

U.S. Senators [[Josh Hawley]] of Missouri and [[Ted Cruz]] of Texas subsequently contested the election results in the Senate.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Levine|first1=Marianne|last2=Otterbeing|first2=Holly|last3=Everett|first3=Burgess|date=January 9, 2021|title=Election gambit blows up on Hawley and Cruz|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/09/hawley-cruz-2024-capitol-riots-456671|website=[[Politico]]|access-date=2 April 2021}}</ref> Their effort was characterized as "the big lie" by then President-elect [[Joe Biden]]: "I think the American public has a real good, clear look at who they are. They're part of the big lie, the big lie."<ref name="Block_1/16/2021">{{Cite news|last=Block|first=Melissa|date=January 16, 2021|title=Can The Forces Unleashed By Trump's Big Election Lie Be Undone?|work=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/01/16/957291939/can-the-forces-unleashed-by-trumps-big-election-lie-be-undone|access-date=3 March 2021}}</ref> [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] senators [[Mitt Romney]] of [[Utah]] and [[Pat Toomey]] of [[Pennsylvania]], scholars of fascism [[Timothy Snyder]] and [[Ruth Ben-Ghiat]], Russian affairs expert [[Fiona Hill (presidential advisor)|Fiona Hill]], and others also used the term "big lie" to refer to Trump's false claims about massive election fraud.<ref>Multiple sources:
* {{Cite web|last=Ben-Ghiat|first=Ruth|date=January 25, 2021|title=Opinion: Trump's big lie wouldn't have worked without his thousands of little lies|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/25/opinions/big-lie-ben-ghiat/index.html|website=CNN|access-date=2 April 2021}}
* {{Cite web|last=Snyder|first=Timothy|date=9 January 2021|title=The American Abyss|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/09/magazine/trump-coup.html|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2 April 2021}}
* {{Cite news|last=Stelter|first=Brian|date=January 11, 2021|title=Experts warn that Trump's 'big lie' will outlast his presidency|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/11/media/trump-lies-reliable-sources/index.html|work=CNN|access-date=March 3, 2021}}
* {{cite news|last=Castronuovo|first=Celine|date=January 8, 2021|title=Biden says Cruz, other Republicans responsible for 'big lie' that fueled Capitol mob|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/533449-biden-says-cruz-other-republicans-responsible-for-big-lie-that-fueled|work=The Hill|access-date=10 January 2021}}</ref> By May 2021, many Republicans had come to embrace the false claim and use it as justification to impose new voting restrictions and attempt to take control of the administrative management of elections.<ref>Multiple sources:
* {{cite news |last1=Block |first1=Melissa |title=The clear and present danger of Trump's enduring 'Big Lie' |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/12/23/1065277246/trump-big-lie-jan-6-election |publisher=National Public Radio |date=December 23, 2021 |access-date=2021-12-23}}
* {{cite news |last1=Corasaniti |first1=Nick |title=Republicans Aim to Seize More Power Over How Elections Are Run |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/us/politics/republicans-election-laws.html |work=The New York Times |date=March 24, 2021 |access-date=16 September 2024 }}
* {{cite news |title=Special Report: Backers of Trump's false fraud claims seek to control next elections |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/backers-trumps-false-fraud-claims-seek-control-next-us-elections-2021-09-22/ |date=September 22, 2021 |work=[[Reuters]] |first1=Tim |last1=Reid |first2=Nathan |last2=Layne |first3=Jason |last3=Lange |access-date=16 September 2024 }}
* {{cite news |last1=Epstein |first1=Reid J. |title=Wisconsin Republicans Push to Take Over the State's Elections |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/19/us/politics/wisconsin-republicans-decertify-election.html |work=The New York Times |date=November 9, 2021 |access-date=16 September 2024 }}
* {{cite news |title=Trump allies work to place supporters in key election posts across the country, spurring fears about future vote challenges |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-allies-election-oversight/2021/11/28/3933b3ce-4227-11ec-9ea7-3eb2406a2e24_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 29, 2021 |first1=Amy |last1=Gardner |first2=Tom |last2=Hamburger |first3=Josh |last3=Dawsey |access-date=16 September 2024 }}
* {{cite news |last1=Collinson |first1=Stephen |title=Trump's Big Lie is changing the face of American politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/16/politics/trump-big-lie-gop-election/index.html |work=CNN |access-date=16 September 2024 |date=September 16, 2021}}
* {{cite news |last1=Graziosi |first1=Graig |title='Evil takes no breaks': Warnings as Steve Bannon vows to take over America's entire 'election apparatus' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/steve-bannon-take-over-election-b1979771.html |work=The Independent |date=December 21, 2021 |access-date=16 September 2024}}</ref> Republicans who opposed the claims faced backlash.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Woodward|first=Calvin|date=9 May 2021|title=Trump's 'Big Lie' imperils Republicans who don't embrace it|url=https://apnews.com/article/michael-pence-donald-trump-election-2020-government-and-politics-0c07947f9fd2b9911b3006f0fc128ffd|website=Associated Press|access-date=June 7, 2021}}</ref>

In early 2021, ''[[The New York Times]]'' examined Trump's promotion of "the big lie" for political purposes to subvert the 2020 election, and concluded that the lie encouraged the [[2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol]].<ref name="NYT-20210131">{{cite news|last1=Rutenberg|first1=Jim|last2=Becker|first2=Jo|last3=Lipton|first3=Eric|last4=Haberman|first4=Maggie|last5=Martin|first5=Jonathan|last6=Rosenberg|first6=Matthew|last7=Schmidt|first7=Michael S.|date=January 31, 2021|title=77 Days: Trump's Campaign to Subvert the Election – Hours after the United States voted, the president declared the election a fraud – a lie that unleashed a movement that would shatter democratic norms and upend the peaceful transfer of power.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/31/us/trump-election-lie.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=February 1, 2021}}</ref><ref name="NYT-20210201mr">{{cite news|last1=Rosenberg|first1=Matthew|last2=Rutenberg|first2=Jim|date=1 February 2021|title=Key Takeaways From Trump's Effort to Overturn the Election – A Times examination of the 77 days between election and inauguration shows how a lie the former president had been grooming for years overwhelmed the Republican Party and stoked the assault on the Capitol.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/01/us/politics/trump-election-results.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=1 February 2021}}</ref> The attack was cited in a resolution to [[Second impeachment of Donald Trump|impeach Trump for a second time]].<ref name="NPR Impeachment Resolution">{{cite news|last=Naylor|first=Brian|date=January 11, 2021|title=Impeachment Resolution Cites Trump's 'Incitement' Of Capitol Insurrection|publisher=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/trump-impeachment-effort-live-updates/2021/01/11/955631105/impeachment-resolution-cites-trumps-incitement-of-capitol-insurrection|url-status=live|access-date=January 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111193300/https://www.npr.org/sections/trump-impeachment-effort-live-updates/2021/01/11/955631105/impeachment-resolution-cites-trumps-incitement-of-capitol-insurrection|archive-date=January 11, 2021}}</ref> During [[second impeachment trial of Donald Trump|Trump's second impeachment trial]], the house managers [[Jamie Raskin]], [[Joe Neguse]], [[Joaquin Castro]], [[Stacey Plaskett]] and [[Madeleine Dean]] discussed how Trump used "the big lie" to repeatedly make the false claim the election was stolen from him.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/117/crec/2021/02/10/CREC-2021-02-10-senate.pdf |date=February 10, 2021 |publisher=[[117th United States Congress]] |title=Senate |volume=167 |issue=25 |work=[[Congressional Record]] |access-date=15 February 2021}}</ref><ref name="ImpeachmentNYT">{{cite news|last=Thrush|first=Glenn|date=10 February 2021|title=Prosecutors describe Trump's 'Big Lie' of a stolen election|url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/02/10/us/impeachment-trial#prosecutors-describe-trumps-big-lie-of-a-stolen-election|work=The New York Times|access-date=15 February 2021}}</ref> On October 7, a Senate Judiciary Committee report said that Trump attempted to use the Department of Justice to "lay the foundation of the 'Big Lie'" before the general election and remain in power regardless of election results.<ref name="judiciary">{{Cite web |date=October 7, 2021 |title=Subverting Justice: How the Former President and His Allies Pressured DOJ to Overturn the 2020 Election|url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Interim%20Staff%20Report%20FINAL.pdf|website=[[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary]] |language=en }}</ref>

In early 2022, ''The New York Times'' presented a detailed analysis of the continuing efforts by Trump and his allies to further promote "the big lie" and related lies in their attempts to overturn and influence future elections, including those in 2022 and 2024.<ref name="NYT-20220522">{{cite news |last1=Corasaniti |first1=Nick |last2=Yourish |first2=Karen |last3=Collins |first3=Keith |title=How Trump's 2020 Election Lies – Have Gripped State Legislatures |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/05/22/us/politics/state-legislators-election-denial.html |date=May 22, 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=May 22, 2022 }}</ref><ref name="NBC-20220522">{{cite news |last=Edelman |first=Adam |title=Election deniers who say Trump won in 2020 are running to be top cop in 4 battleground states – At least 15 people who push false claims about the 2020 results are running for attorney general in 14 states, including four swing states, according to a group tracking the races. |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/election-deniers-say-trump-won-2020-are-running-top-cop-4-battleground-rcna29705 |date=May 22, 2022 |work=[[NBC News]] |access-date=May 22, 2022 }}</ref> On June 13, 2022, the [[U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack]] presented testimony that Trump knew he lost the 2020 election, but nevertheless promoted the false claim to exploit donors, and, as a result, raked in "half a billion" dollars.<ref name="DB-20220613">{{cite news |last=Pagliery  |first=Jose |title=Jan. 6 Hearing Bombshells: Trump Knew He Lost – and Profited – HE KNEW |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/jan-6-committee-hearing-bombshell-donald-trump-knew-he-lost |date=June 13, 2022 |work=[[The Daily Beast]] |access-date=June 13, 2022 }}</ref><ref name="DB-20201203">{{cite news |last=Markay |first=Lachlan |title=Election Lies Help Trump and RNC Rake in Half a Billion – BIG $$$ |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/election-lies-help-trump-and-rnc-rake-in-half-a-billion |date=December 3, 2020 |work=[[The Daily Beast]] |access-date=June 13, 2022 }}</ref> In the days following his [[Prosecution of Donald Trump in New York|first indictment]] on March 30, 2023, he repeatedly posted similar election-related commentary to social media.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Price |first1=Michelle L. |last2=Riccardi |first2=Nicholas |date=2023-04-10 |title=Trump's Response To Criminal Charges Revives Election Lies |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-response-criminal-charges-revives-election-lies_n_643401dee4b05cef00ca19da |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref>

[[Dominion Voting Systems]], which provided [[voting machine]]s to many jurisdictions in the [[2020 U.S. elections]], filed four major lawsuits related to the big lie that Dominion fixed the election. From Trump's lawyer [[Rudy Giuliani]], Dominion seeks {{nowrap|$1.3 billion}} in damages, alleging that "he and his allies manufactured and disseminated the 'Big Lie', which foreseeably went [[Viral phenomenon|viral]] and deceived millions of people into believing that Dominion had stolen their votes and fixed the election."<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Wolfe|first1=Jan|last2=Heavey|first2=Susan|date=25 January 2021|title=Trump lawyer Giuliani faces $1.3 billion lawsuit over 'big lie' election fraud claims|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-dominion-idUSKBN29U1CD|work=Reuters|access-date=1 February 2021}}</ref> Separately, in ''[[Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News Network]]'' it sought $1.6&nbsp;billion from [[Fox News]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Folkenflik |first1=David |last2=Romo |first2=Vanessa |date=2021-05-18 |title=Fox News Moves To Have Dominion Voting Systems Lawsuit Dismissed |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/05/18/998099249/fox-news-moves-to-have-dominion-voting-systems-lawsuit-dismissed |access-date=2021-09-24}}</ref> During [[Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News Network#Discovery|discovery]], Fox News' internal communications were released, indicating that prominent hosts and top executives were aware the network was reporting false statements but continued doing so to retain viewers for financial reasons. On April 18, 2023, Fox News agreed to pay Dominion a $788&nbsp;million settlement, described by CNN as the "big price" of telling "the Big Lie".<ref name="Darcy_4/19/2023">{{cite web |last=Darcy |first=Oliver |title=With historic settlement, Rupert Murdoch is paying the price for Trump's election lies |website=[[CNN]] |date=April 19, 2023 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/19/media/dominion-fox-news-settlement-reliable-sources/index.html |access-date=April 20, 2023}}</ref> Dominion is also suing two other TV networks, [[Newsmax]] and [[One America News Network]], for $1.6&nbsp;billion each, as well as [[My Pillow]] and its CEO [[Mike Lindell]] for $1.2&nbsp;billion.<ref name="Ivanova_4/19/2023">{{cite web |last=Ivanova |first=Irina |title=This private equity firm is the biggest winner in the Dominion-Fox News settlement |website=[[CBS News]] |date=April 19, 2023 |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fox-news-dominion-voting-systems-lawsuit-settlement-staple-street-private-equity/ |access-date=April 20, 2023}}</ref>

On April 25, 2023, [[CNN controversies|CNN]] reported that Trump had told a new lie about the 2020 election: "Trump pointedly noted that Biden got more votes than Trump in fewer than a fifth of US counties in 2020. Trump then said, 'Nothing like this has ever happened before. Usually, it's very equal, or{{snd}}but the winner always had the most counties.'" The statement was described as "complete bunk". Both [[Bill Clinton]] (1992 and 1996) and [[Barack Obama]] (2008 and 2012) carried "a minority of counties in each of their victories". [[William H. Frey]], a senior fellow at the [[Brookings Institution]], explained:
{{blockquote|There is nothing suspicious about winning the presidency with a smaller number of counties. Counties vary widely in size, with large urban and suburban counties{{snd}}areas where Biden did best{{snd}}housing far larger populations than most of the outer suburb, small town and rural counties that Trump won.<ref name="Dale_4/25/2023">{{cite web |last=Dale |first=Daniel |title=Fact check: Trump, in 2023, tells a new lie about the 2020 election |website=[[CNN]] |date=April 25, 2023 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/25/politics/fact-check-trump-counties-2020-election-lies/index.html |access-date=April 25, 2023}}</ref>}}

On July 28, 2023, a federal district court judge dismissed an October 2022 Trump lawsuit against CNN, stating that CNN's multiple uses of the term "big lie" about Trump's claims of election fraud did not constitute [[Cause of action|actionable]] [[defamation]].<ref name=Politico_20230729/> The judge wrote that CNN's statements were opinion, not factually verifiable statements, and that "no reasonable viewer" would infer that "Trump advocates the persecution and genocide of Jews or any other group of people". The suit was dismissed [[with prejudice]], meaning Trump could not sue again on the same basis.<ref name="Politico_20230729">{{cite news |last1=Zhang |first1=Andrew |date=July 29, 2023 |title=Judge dismisses Trump's 'Big Lie' lawsuit against CNN |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/29/judge-dismisses-trump-defamation-lawsuit-00108871 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230729194622/https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/29/judge-dismisses-trump-defamation-lawsuit-00108871 |archive-date=July 29, 2023 |work=[[Politico]] |access-date=16 September 2024 }}</ref>

On December 13, 2024, just over a month after the [[2024 United States presidential election]], the [[Public Religion Research Institute]] published the results of a survey conducted shortly after that election, between November 8 and December 2. The survey focused primarily on the 2024 election but included questions about the claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump: 63 percent of Republicans and 31 percent of voters overall still agreed that the 2020 election had been stolen from Trump.<ref><!--PRRI, "Analyzing the 2024 Presidential Vote: PRRI’s Post-Election Survey"-->{{cite Q|Q136415370}}</ref>

== People's Republic of China ==
{{Further|Persecution of Uyghurs in China|Xinjiang internment camps}}
The [[Government of China]] has denied [[Persecution of Uyghurs in China|committing human rights abuses]] against [[Uyghurs]] in [[Xinjiang]], and has labelled declarations of Uyghur genocide as a "big lie" perpetrated by hostile forces.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pheby |first1=James |date=April 23, 2021 |title=UK MPs say China's Uyghurs 'suffering crimes against humanity and genocide,' as Beijing claims accusations are 'big lie' |website=hongkongfp.com |publisher=[[Hong Kong Free Press]] |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]] |url=https://hongkongfp.com/2021/04/23/uk-mps-say-chinas-uyghurs-suffering-crimes-against-humanity-and-genocide-as-beijing-claims-accusations-are-big-lie/ |access-date=28 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Inskeep |first1=Steve |date=28 January 2022 |title=China's ambassador to the U.S. warns of 'military conflict' over Taiwan |work=npr.org |publisher=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/01/28/1076246311/chinas-ambassador-to-the-u-s-warns-of-military-conflict-over-taiwan |access-date=28 January 2022 |authorlink1=Steve Inskeep}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=Mar 31, 2021 |title=U.S. raps China's Uyghur abuse as "genocide" in human rights report |url=https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/03/c50376e38697-us-raps-chinas-uyghur-abuse-as-genocide-in-human-rights-report.html |access-date=28 January 2022 |website=english.kyodonews.net |agency=[[Kyodo News]]}}</ref>

==Analysis==
Psychologists, psychiatrists and others have explained why the big lie technique works. Dr. Ramani Durvasula, a licensed clinical psychologist and professor of psychology who is an expert on [[narcissistic personality disorder]] and [[narcissistic abuse]] says that:

<blockquote>Repetition is important, because the Big Lie works through indoctrination. The Big Lie then becomes its own evidence base{{snd}}if it is repeated enough, people believe it, and the very repetition almost tautologically becomes the support for the Lie. ... Hear something enough it becomes truth. People assume there is an evidence base when the lie is big (it's like a blind spot). ... [People also fail to realize] that there are people in our midst that lack empathy, have no care for the common good, are grandiose, arrogant, and willing to exploit and manipulate people for solely their own egocentric needs. ... [Instead] a sort of halo effect imbues leaders with presumed expertise and power{{snd}}when that is not at all the case (most if not all megalomaniacal leaders, despots, tyrants, oligarchs share narcissism/psychopathy as a trait).<ref name="salon">Rozsa, Matthew (February 3, 2021) [https://www.salon.com/2022/02/03/the-psychological-reason-that-so-many-fall-for-the-big-lie/ "The psychological reason that so many fall for the 'Big Lie'"] ''[[Salon (magazine)|Salon]]''. Retrieved February 11, 2022.</ref></blockquote>

The importance of repetition in the acceptance of the big lie is stressed by Miriam Bowers-Abbott, an associate professor of logic at Mount Carmel College of Nursing, who states: "What's especially helpful is repetition in a variety of contexts. That is, not just the same words over and over{{snd}}but integration of an idea in lots of ways. It builds its own little web of support." Such repetition can occur in the physical environment, according to Dr. Matt Blanchard, a clinical psychologist at New York University, who states: "Nothing sells the Big Lie like novelty t-shirts, hats and banners. These items are normally associated with sports teams, not life-and-death political issues. But Trump and his circle have deftly used these items to generate the kind of unbridled loyalty Americans associate with pro football. ... The banners and hats crucially add an air of silliness to everything. If I can buy a novelty hat about it, can it really be so serious? ... It's a genius mindf**k."<ref name=salon />

Blanchard also notes that people assess information that has a direct impact on their lives differently than more abstract information with less proximity to them. He states that "the act of 'believing' is not just one thing that humans do. Instead, this one word represents a wide range of relationships that humans have with information. We don't truly 'believe' things, so much as provisionally accept information we find useful." Because of this, he states that "most people don't whole-heartedly 'believe' the Big Lie, but they are more than happy to provisionally accept it because... why not? It might be entertaining. It might flatter your identity. It might help you bond with other people in your community. Or it might help you vent some rage. ... '[B]elief' is always predicated on usefulness."<ref name="salon" />

Psychiatrist [[Bandy X. Lee]] notes that emotional reasons lie beneath the acceptance of outrageous assertions such as the big lie, stating:

<blockquote>Usually, they are trying to find comfort and to avoid pain. ... This happens in states of lesser health, where one is less inclined to venture into new domains or to seek creative solutions. There is comfort in repetition, and so a people or a nation under duress will gravitate more toward what is repeated to them than what is realistic. Adolf Hitler understood this very well, which is why the American psychologist Walter Langer coined the phrase to describe his method.<ref name=salon /></blockquote>

[[Social media]] also plays a role in such emotional responses, according to Bowers-Abbott, who states:<blockquote>It was easier to dislodge untruths before social media. In social media, people tend to take public positions. When that position turns out to be wrong, it's embarrassing. And backing down is typically seen as weakness. So they double-down on untrue claims to save face and personal credibility. ... We are way too emotionally attached to being right. It would be better for our culture as a whole to value uncertainty and intellectual humility and curiosity. Those values help us ask questions without the expectation of permanent answers.<ref name="salon" /></blockquote>

Durvasula, Blanchard and Lee agree that it is unlikely that a believer in a big lie can be persuaded through the presentation of factual evidence. Durvasula argues that improvement in [[critical thinking]] skills is necessary, stating: "It means ending algorithms that only provide confirmatory news and instead people seeing stories and information that provide other points of view ... creating safe spaces to have these conversations ... encouraging civil discourse with those who hold different opinions, teaching people to find common ground (e.g. love of family) even when belief systems are not aligned." Blanchard says that "[S]preaders of the Big Lie will only be discredited in the eyes of their supporters if they face their greatest fear{{snd}}accountability. ... They must be seen to lose at the ballot box, they must be arrested when they break the law, they must be sued for every defamation, they must be pursued with every legal tool available in an open society. ... Above all else they must be seen as weak. Only then will their lies lose their usefulness for the millions who once saw something to gain{{snd}}personally, psychologically, politically, financially{{snd}}in choosing to believe." Lee notes that when attempting to disabuse someone of a big lie, it is important not to put them on the defensive: "You have to fix the underlying emotional vulnerability that led people to believing it in the first place. For populations, it is usually the pain of not having a place in the world, which socioeconomic inequality exacerbates. Deprivation of health care, education, an ability to make a living, and other avenues for dignity can make a population psychologically vulnerable to those who look to exploit them."<ref name="salon" />

==See also==
* [[Brainwashing]]
* [[Brandolini's law]]
* {{Annotated link|Credo quia absurdum|link_lang=la}}
* [[Demagogue]]
* [[Fake news]]
* [[Gaslighting]]
* [[Illusory truth effect]]
* [[Just war theory]]
* [[Noble lie]]
* [[Post-truth politics]]
* [[Propaganda]]
* [[Truthiness]]

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist}}

'''Further reading'''
* {{cite book
  | last = Baker White
  | first = John
  | title = The Big Lie
  | location = London
  | publisher = Evans Brothers
  | year = 1955
  | oclc = 874233110}}

*{{cite book
  | last = de Berg
  | first = Henk
  | url = https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-51833-1
  | title = Trump and Hitler: A Comparative Study in Lying
  | location = London
  | publisher = Palgrave Macmillan
  | year = 2024
  | doi = 10.1007/978-3-031-51833-1
  | isbn = 978-3-031-51832-4}}

*{{cite book
  | last = Kurlansky
  | first = Mark
  | title = Big Lies: from Socrates to Social Media
  | location = [[Thomaston, Maine]]
  | publisher = Tilbury House Publishers
  | year = 2022
  | isbn = 978-0884489122}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{wiktionary}}
* [https://blogs.harvard.edu/karthik/files/2011/04/HIST-1572-Analysis-of-Nazi-Propaganda-KNarayanaswami.pdf "Analysis of Nazi Propaganda"] by Karthik Narayanaswami ([[Harvard University]])
* "[https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/trump-big-lie-threat-to-constitution-by-elizabeth-drew-2021-05 The Big Lie and Its Consequences]" ([[Project Syndicate]]; 17 May 2021)
* {{youTube|U2aWw-C27Rk|Video (18:49): "Inside Trump's Election Plot"}} (''[[MSNBC|MSNBC News]]''; July 29, 2022)
<!---* {{youtube|fXRsWyqQ908|Video (40:26): "Inside Trump's Election Plot"}} (''[[MSNBC|MSNBC News]]''; 29 July 2022)--->

{{Misinformation}}
{{Propaganda}}
{{Media manipulation}}

[[Category:1920s neologisms]]
[[Category:1925 quotations]]
[[Category:Deception]]
[[Category:Lying]]
[[Category:Propaganda techniques]]
[[Category:Views on Adolf Hitler]]
[[Category:Trumpism]]