Liar liar

Boris Johnson was once called a "greased piglet" - a slippery creature able to escape from the tightest situations.¹ But he might finally be bacon.

On Wednesday, the former British prime minister was hauled before a committee of MPs. It has been investigating whether Johnson misled Parliament over lockdown parties at 10 Downing StreetThe official residence of the British prime minister. .²

Johnson huffed and puffed. He lost his temper more than once. He was adamant he had done nothing wrong. The Times columnist Matt Chorley wrote: "His defence is essentially that he is an idiot."

The committee seemed to disagree with Johnson. Chair Harriet Harman denounced his "flimsy" explanations. Bernard Jenkin said: "The guidance does not say you can have a thank you party and as many people in the room as you like". 

When they publish their guidelines in a few weeks, they might recommend that Johnson is suspended from Parliament. This might eventually lead to a by-electionAn election held outside a general election to replace an MP who has resigned or otherwise left office. . He could even lose his seat in Parliament. 

Even if he holds on, big thinkers say he will be tainted. BBC's Chris Mason says: "It will shape his future; a permanent reference on his reputation. And it has the potential to finish him off."

In recent times, many have worried that politics is entering a post-truth era.³ Politicians around the world entered office on the basis of false promises and distortions of the truth.

Now their lies have caught up with them. Johnson has been shamed. Last week, Donald Trump tweeted that he faces arrest. Meanwhile, British prime minister Rishi Sunak has published his tax returns: a move that signals honesty.

Others are more cautious. Johnson may be out of power, but he is still a presence in politics.  Truth may have stung twice - when he was ousted from office last July, and now over lockdown parties. Otherwise, Johnson has succeeded spectacularly despite being a "known liar". 

As a journalist, he was sacked from The Times for making up a quote, but soon found a job at the Daily Telegraph. He was even accused of lying to the Queen to shut down Parliament. One Mirror article lists his "40 worst lies, gaffes and scandals". That such a man could win a landslide election victory suggests that lying works more often than not.⁴

Even if Johnson falls, the current situation remains. Lying and spreading false information often works. Worse, it has become more difficult to tell them apart. The internet is full of conspiracy theories, deepfakesThis technique uses artificial intelligence to change the identity of a person in an image or a video - or to make it appear that a person is saying or doing something that they never said or did. and opinions presented as fact.

The philosopher Hannah ArendtA Jewish German political philosopher who escaped a concentration camp and fled to America. She wrote extensively about Nazism. wrote that the ideal subjects for a totalitarianWhen a political system or leader requires complete subservience to the state. In a totalitarian system, people are not allowed to express their own opinions. regime are "people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and... between true and false no longer exist". Some fear we might be reaching this state.

Yet others question whether truth exists in the first place. French theorist Michel FoucaultA 20th Century French philosopher, activist and writer who studied the relationship between power and knowledge. argued that truth is not objective but rather something we create. Truth changes as society changes. At the moment, truth is becoming more complex. This might not be a bad thing, just a different one.

Yes: People lie all the time. We often lie, for example, when we tick a box saying we have read the terms and conditions. There is no reason to think politicians will be more truthful than the rest of us.

No: Truth was embattled. But now it has returned with a vengeance. In a democracy, liars can only function as long as they remain in power. Once defeated, in the words of Shakespeare, "truth will out".

Or... There is no single objective notion of "truth". It has always been a complicated and ambiguous idea. The post-truth age is actually just a different stage in the history of truth, rather than its end.