“A lie told once remains a lie, but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth.”
This quote has been attributed to Joseph Goebbels, Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. There is little evidence that he ever said it or wrote it, but it doesn’t really matter. The quote feels accurate — like it would be a practice any good propagandist would adhere to, but never admit. The quote also rings true to our experience — accurately describing the power of deception and lies when repeated. I know too many people who believe a lie even when there is no evidence of its veracity. Yes, there are still people who believe that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, eat dogs and cats. Lies repeated often enough DO replace the truth. It’s why conspiracy theories abound.
Two weeks ago, Donald J. Trump told us yet again how the 2020 presidential election was stolen. He claimed our elections are vulnerable to fraud and susceptible to error. The voting machines are unreliable. Mail-in ballots can be easily falsified. Results can be manipulated by unscrupulous poll workers or nefarious nations. Non-citizens vote in elections on a regular basis, skewing the results. Therefore, we must change election laws to prevent rampant election tampering. And all this was said without presenting a shred of evidence
We have heard the same lie about the insecurity of our elections for the past 6 plus years. It appears that the lie has become the truth for everyone in the ‘Trumposphere.” In his confirmation hearing as Director of National Intelligence on July 15, 2026, Jay Clayton was asked specifically under oath by Senator Jon Ossoff, “Did Joe Biden win the 2020 election?” Clayton refused to answer the question. Even after repeated attempts to get an “honest and forthright” answer, Clayton continued to refuse.
Others in the administration and those being considered for appointments have also refused to answer the question or have equivocated by saying that Biden was “certified” as president. What is more disturbing to me, however, is the number of regular people — including people of faith — who won’t (or can’t) answer the question definitively. The lie has been told often enough that there is uncertainty and a hesitancy to commit, and it has been told often enough to undermine confidence in election results in 2026 and beyond.
Liars and deceivers will tell lies and deceive. But as people of faith, we have an obligation to call them out and tell the truth. Scripture warns of false prophets and false teachers who lead people away from the truth. The Didache, one of the earliest Christian church instructional manuals also known as “The Teaching of the Twelve Disciples”, gave churches clear guidelines as to how to identify false teachers, and the letters from the apostle John, provided truth to counter their deceptions (see especially 2 John). The Psalmist prayed, “Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.” — Psalm 120:2 (NRSVUE) We cannot allow ourselves to be led astray by those seeking to control the narrative for their own agenda and benefit.
Who won the 2020 election? Each one of us needs to answer that question. And if your answer isn’t Joe Biden, I would ask you a second question: “Why do you believe he didn’t win?”
