If you are the first to tell a “truth,” people will likely believe you, then they will repeat your “truth” to others, who will also believe it. Humans are programmed to believe. Even if you are making up the “truth.”

People once there was a race of bat people who lived on the moon.

Hundreds of British settlers were scammed into investing in a New World country that didn’t exist. They moved there, with tragic outcomes.

Benjamin Franklin was a master of hoaxes and was often dishonest.

Leave it to an Englishman, Tom Phillips, to make the serious business of fake news and dishonesty into an often lighthearted book, Truth: A Brief History of Total Bull—t.

Phillips covers a lot of ground and time, including details related to the topics above. He also delves into the psychology of lying and believing. He explains the difference between a liar and a bulls—ter and shows that fake news is not a modern invention. He even teaches how to tell if someone is lying.

Truth may bring laughs, but the author is honest about how fabricated stories can have harmful consequences, like they did for thousands who were killed when accused of being witches.

If you are looking for more of Tom Phillips, check out Humans: A Brief History of How We F-cked It All Up. That reminds me to warn you that his narrative is sprinkled with colorful vocabulary.

One more thing: Tom Phillips is a professional hunter of lies as a fact checker for Full Fact. Its website cites its goal: “Bad information ruins lives. We’re a team of independent fact checkers and campaigners who find, expose and counter the harm it does.”