It’s Easy to Manipulate the Truth – And You Bought the Lie

The last couple of days there was a video going around of a brief clip from the show “Family Feud”

Here’s how I originally saw it:

I saw lots of comments on it. Some people thought it was cute. Some said it was diplomacy at work.

Yes, I thought it was a funny clip. It shows the solidarity of two men refusing to embarrass their wives. Instead, they choose to keep their mouths shut.

But that wasn’t the whole clip.

Here’s the extended version:

You can see from the extended clip that there’s not quite as much solidarity as the short version would have you believe. The Marine would rather control the board and play the game than to keep silent. That’s not a bash on Marines. I think most people wouldn’t even have paused like these men did.

My issue with the clips isn’t about the content of the game show, but with the person who did the editing.

No, there is not big Family Feud conspiracy. In the grand scheme of life this clip is insignificant. But it does highlight to me how easy it is to manipulate the truth. With a quick edit we were given a version that led us to believe that the men stayed silent out of respect and honor for their wives.

We live in a culture where “truth” is at the mercy of whomever is doing the editing. The media shows us only bits and pieces of the news – and only the bits and pieces that will move us in the way they want us moved. A great example of this is to look at a single news story covered by CNN, FoxNews, and The Daily Show. While covering the SAME piece, each outlet will put its own spin on the story.

We have fully entered the world of Orwell’s 1984. Before too long we’ll even have a Ministry of Truth. Perhaps Orwell was a prophet more than he was a novelist.

Truth is an important part of godly character. It is supposed to be part of what we say, what we do, and who we are.

The Psalms and Proverbs are filled with verses imploring people to be truth-tellers and to run from deceit. Jesus himself said:

You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:32)

It’s easier to accept things at face value, to believe the “truth” as it is presented to us. People pass around bogus information on social media every day because they never bother to fact check – to pursue the truth.

This is not how it is supposed to be.

As people called to be truth-tellers we should be cautious not to be part of bad information (whether it’s intentionally OR unintentionally misleading).

We can do better.

We must do better.

No more deception. Let’s be people of truth.

Follow @chrislinzey