Beyond the Big Lie The Epidemic of Political Lying, Why Republicans Do It More, and How It Could Burn Down Our Democracy

by Adair, Bill

• ISBN13: 9781668050712
• ISBN10: 1668050714
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781668050729
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2025-09-16
• Publisher: Atria Books
• More Book Details

Summary

Pulitzer Prize winner, journalism professor, and founder of PolitiFact Bill Adair, presents an “informed, urgent, and alarming” (Brian Stelter, New York Times bestselling author) history of political deception and how to stop it once and for all.

Bill Adair knows a lie when he hears one. Since 2008, the site he founded, PolitiFact, has been the go-to spot for anyone seeking the truth in an increasingly deceitful world. Since the site’s launch, politics’ tenuous relationship with the truth has only gotten weaker—and weirder.

In this groundbreaking and “valuable book” (Tom Rosenstiel, coauthor of The Elements of Journalism), Adair reveals how politicians lie and why. Based on dozens of candid interviews with politicians, political operatives, and experts in misinformation, Adair reveals the patterns of lying, why Republicans do it more, and the consequences for our democracy. He goes behind the scenes to describe several episodes that reveal the motivations and tactics of the nation’s political liars, show the impact they have on people’s lives, and demonstrate how the problem began before Donald Trump and will continue after he’s gone.

With wry humor and insight, this remarkable book unpacks the sad state of American politics, but also, provides solutions to put an end to political deceit once and for all.

Author Biography

Bill Adair is an award-winning journalist and educator. He is the creator of PolitiFact and cofounder of the International Fact-Checking Network. In 2013, he became the Knight Professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public Policy at Duke University. His awards include the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting (with the PolitiFact staff), the Manship Prize for New Media in Democratic Discourse, and the Everett Dirksen Award for Distinguished Coverage of Congress.