Determining who you can trust on social media sites can help you identify lies and deception. Sponsored by AARP. Show
SEATTLE — Everyone lies now and then, and research shows that most people lie once or less in a day. For others, though, lying is a habit. “Most people lie a little bit, and a small number of people lie a lot,” said Jeffrey Hancock, Standford Professor and Founding Director of the Stanford Social Media Lab. “We call those folks prolific liars.” Studies say that people who lie frequently also assume that other people, including their partners, lie a great deal. This is known as the deception consensus effect and is prevalent in politics. “Politicians that lie a lot tend to accuse their opponents of lying a lot too,” Dr. Hancock said. “If you’re one of those prolific liars you’re going to be constantly suspicious of other people.” According to Dr. Hancock's research, social media has actually not had any effect on how much we lie to people in our interpersonal circles. However, it has made it more difficult for people to spot liars. If a person contacting you is unknown to you and not part of your interpersonal circle, they are more likely to be deceptive. This unknown network of people may say they want to get to know you or may offer you a product to buy, but often they are trying to take advantage of you or deceive you. Dr. Hancock's biggest tip for spotting deception on social media? Know who and where messages are coming from. If a person who is a part of your interpersonal, known network contacts you, it’s typically safe to trust them. If someone in your unknown to you sends a message or you see a post from a news source you’ve never heard of, it’s smart to be suspicious and proceed with caution. This is similar to how you might interact with a stranger face-to-face. Distinguishing who and what sources are part of your known and unknown networks can help prevent deception on social media. Sign up now for AARP Washington's Free Online Speaker Series, "Sorting Fact from Fiction"To help Washingtonians better sort fact from fiction, AARP, the Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington and BECU are offering a four-part series of free online events called Sorting Fact from Fiction: Finding truth in an infodemic. The event is open to everyone. Pre-registration is required. Sign up now at AARP.org/factfromfiction.
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If you are texting people you need to know how to tell if someone is lying over text. There are 5 red flags to look for. These days we are texting more and more and you never know when you might come across a text lie. These lying red flags are also important to spot in emails and chat. In an age where technology is rapidly shaping the online world and how we communicate, and for many businesses that work exclusively through the virtual world (sending emails, communicating remotely) it is easy to wonder if the person on the other end of that text message or email is lying.
A recent study showed that an office worker receives on average 121 emails a day. That is a staggering amount of emails that could potentially contain a lie. It has also been said that we are lied to as many as 200 times per day, and that we can accurately detect only about 54% of those lies. The majority of the population genuinely wants to tell the truth, which is why the limbic system in our brain will leak out clues when we tell a lie. Think of it this way: just like in the movie “Liar, Liar”, Jim Carrey’s character (Fletcher Reede) tried to trick himself that the “blue” pen in his office was red, but every time he would utter the word red, the truth would leak out that the pen was blue.  These clues that leak out are what we call red flags, and I am here to help you increase your detection radar. So, here are 5 Red Flags to help you know how to tell if someone is lying to you in text or email: Lack of First-person PronounsIt is known that when a person is being truthful, they will refer to themselves in first-person and subtly proclaim ownership of a statement. So when you are reading an email, look to see if the sender is verbally distancing themselves by using less frequent singular pronouns like “I”, “me”, or “my”. Verbal distancing is the same as nonverbal distancing– “standing back” from the lie that does not represent their true attitude or experience. Examples of these might look like: “Leaving the bank’s safe unlocked is not what a responsible person would do.” Vs. “I left the safe in the bank unlocked” Past TensingA deceptive person may refer to historical events from the past, in the present. The reason for this might be because the deceiver is making up the story from their imagination. Like in the 1994 case of Susan Smith, she used past tense words like “My children wanted me. They needed me. And know I can’t help them.” These keywords suggested to the investigator that Susan already knew that her kids were no longer alive. Many truth-tellers that believe their missing family member is alive, would use their words in the present tense. Concrete Vs. AbstractBecause a liar is generating a story from their imagination, some of their cognitive resources are being used to create a believable story. This suggests a lower amount of cognitive complexity being used, which allows a liar to easily access concrete descriptions than abstract evaluations or judgements. This might look like:
Vs.
The Unanswered QuestionLike I mentioned above, people generally don’t like to lie, so before their brain leaks the truth, they will generally ask a question within a question to talk about something unrelated. This is a common go-to method for people who want to dodge the truth. If you go back and watch Anthony Weiner’s first sex scandal, you find him many times deflecting the hard questions with another question or by changing the topic completely. Swear OathingAnother sign of deception is known as the “oath”. This is when a person will try to convince they are not guilty by adding in verbal expressions such as: “I swear”, “cross my heart…”, or “To be honest”. Truth-tellers are more confident in their words and feel that the facts will speak for themselves without having to back their statement up with a swearing aaIf the email in question feels a bit off, circle back around and ask questions that can take the topic a bit deeper, this will help with any misunderstandings. Before you leave us, remember:
Want more Lying Science? Check out: The Ultimate Guide on How to Tell if Someone is Lying Why Kids Lie How can you tell if someone is lying on chat?How to Tell if Someone is Lying Through Text. Being Purposefully Vague. ... . Spotting a Lie in Text. ... . Overly Complicating Things. ... . Avoiding Certain Questions. ... . Going Out of Their Way to Proclaim Honesty. ... . Their Wording is “Off” ... . They Hit You With a “G2G” or a “BBL” ... . Trust Your Intuition.. Why do people lie about who they are online?Perceptions of others' honesty online, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, extraversion, and internet addiction will be significantly related to online deception. Exaggerated or enhanced self-presentation, privacy concerns, and mutuality/fantasy/identity play will emerge as major motivations for online lying behavior.
How many people lie about who they are online?A Kaspersky survey of online daters from around the world found that over half of online daters lie. And Cornell University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that the US has an even higher percentage of online dating liars — as high as 80%. But what do daters lie about most often?
How can you tell if someone is being honest over text?It is known that when a person is being truthful, they will refer to themselves in first-person and subtly proclaim ownership of a statement. So when you are reading an email, look to see if the sender is verbally distancing themselves by using less frequent singular pronouns like “I”, “me”, or “my”.
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How do you tell if someone is lying about who they are online?
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