We typically learn how to lie between the ages of 2 and 4. At that point, the ability to deceive is actually an important cognitive developmental milestone.
It indicates we realize that our thoughts are separate from others’ — we understand that we can’t read each other’s minds!
But that doesn’t mean we can just say whatever and get away with it. Push your false narratives too far, and you’ll get exposed. People aren’t dumb and will catch up. Plus, since we all carry cameras in our pockets and know how to take screenshots online, there will be receipts.
To remind everyone that confidence doesn’t always equal credibility, we put together some of the most satisfying times liars got caught in broad daylight.
#1 Oh Man, Got Burned
Image source: No-Bear
#2 A Review For A Local Gun Range
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Most of us are honest, says University of Wisconsin-La Crosse professor Tony Docan-Morgan, co-author of the study “Unpacking variation in lie prevalence: Prolific liars, bad lie days, or both?” published in Communication Monographs.
The paper examined 116,366 lies told by 632 participants over 91 consecutive days. Participants self-reported their lies daily via an online survey, and about 75% did not lie often — just 0 to 2 times per day.
A small group — 6% of respondents — had similarly low average levels of lying but had days when they lied much more frequently.
#3 During Lockdown A Guy Leaves A Bad Review For A Shop He Was Never Even At
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#4 Wow, The Worst Types Of People On Yelp
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#5 Okay Karen
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Unlike most previous lie studies, this research examined lies over time rather than in a one-day behavioral survey.
The study’s authors found that day-to-day variance varies considerably from person to person. People who are usually honest have days in which they lie more than is typical for them, and prolific liars have days in which they tell few lies.
Generally, prolific liars exhibited much more day-to-day variation than the rest. And this variance was especially true for the top 1% of liars, who averaged 17 lies per day. The only respondents who did not vary much day-to-day were the 1% who almost never lied.
#6 Robbery
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#7 On A Post About Trans People
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#8 One Word One Star Review Got Decapitated
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#9 Review
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Why do people lie? According to the aforementioned study, there are several reasons:
- 21 % to avoid others
- 20 % as humor (a joke or a prank)
- 14 % to protect oneself
- 13 % to impress or appear more favorable
- 11 % to protect another person
- 9 % for personal benefit or gain
- 5 % for the benefit of another person
- 2 % to hurt another person
- 5 % unspecified reasons or, explicitly, for no reason at all
Additionally, 79% of the study’s lies were told face-to-face, and 21% were mediated.
#10 Lying About Donating Bone Marrow
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#11 Choosing Beggar Angry About Being Kicked Out Of Cafe With Free WiFi For Bringing In Food From A Different Restaurant
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#12 Just A 15 Yo Working At Louis Vuitton
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#13 That Totally Happened
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Who do people lie to?
- 51% of the time, it’s friends
- 21% – family
- 11% – school/business colleagues
- 8.9% – strangers
- 8.5% – casual acquaintances
88.6% of reported lies in the study were described as “little white lies,” and 11.4 % were characterized as “big lies.” An example of a “little white lie” would be saying you like a gift you really don’t, and an example of a “big lie” would be insincerely declaring “I love you” to someone.
#14 Tried To Pretend He Got Scammed In A Martial Arts School
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#15 That’s 15 Pages A Day
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#16 Yeah Not Everyone Is As Healthy As You. Some Of Us Like Our Soda
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#17 TikTok Commentor Gets Called Out For Faking Mental Issues For No Reason
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When we think about which of them are worse, our initial instinct is to condemn big lies and brush off the little ones. But that’s not necessarily the correct approach.
Dan Ariely, a professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University, is the author of the book The Honest Truth about Dishonesty.
“One of the frightening conclusions we have is that what separates honest people from not-honest people is not necessarily character, it’s opportunity,” he said.
#18 Stuff That Never Happened For $500 Please
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#19 Delusional
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#20 And In Today’s Things That Never Actually Happened
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#21 College Class Clappers
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To Ariely, honesty is something of a state of mind. He thinks the IRS should require people to sign a pledge to be honest when they start working on their taxes, not when they’re done. Setting the stage for honesty is more effective than asking someone after the fact whether or not they lied.
However, echoing the study in Communication Monographs, he said we shouldn’t view research on honesty and lies as negative. We have plenty of opportunities to cheat and steal — sometimes, without even getting caught — and we usually don’t take them.
“There’s a lot of good in us,” he added. “In fact, the surprising thing for a rational economist would be: why don’t we cheat more?”
#22 This Didn’t Happen So Hard It Make Things That Already Happened Unhappen
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#23 Left Nasty Review Because I Wouldn’t Work For 4 Bucks An Hour
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#24 So Fake It Made Me Cringe
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#25 More Things That Never Happened
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#26 That Never Happened, Did It Homer?
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#27 Going Hiking
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#28 On Today’s Episode Of Things That Never Happened
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#29 Friend Of Mine Has Daily Stories Of Men Worshipping Her Like The Goddess She Is
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#30 This Totally 100% Happened. For Reals And For True
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#31 Saw This On Fb In A Group For Things That Never Happen
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#32 The Comment Section On Backstreet Boys Video
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#33 And Then He Woke Up
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#34 And Then My Newborn Did My Taxes
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#35 “And Then The Whole Room Stood Up And Cheered”
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#36 I Bet She Did
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#37 And Then The Teacher Started Breakdancing
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#38 Girlbosses Can Be Liars Too
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#39 I Literally Have Never Met A Single Person Who Gets Angry At Either Merry Christmas Or Happy Holidays
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#40 A Real Leader Is Born
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#41 And Then Everyone Clapped And He Cried And Ran Out And Later I Found Out He Quit His Job
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#42 Then Her Whole Family Clapped And Carried Her On Their Shoulders
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#43 Tough Guy
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#44 Latest Addition To “Things That Never Happened”
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#45 Sure
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#46 Ouchie
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#47 “A Homeless Man Was Willing To Put His Life In Danger For $15 A Night”
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