Deliberate propagandistic falsehood permeated ancient texts and drew explicit moral condemnation

Evidence

Falsehood is probably as old as speech and certainly much older than writing. A significant proportion of ancient texts consists of lies, written with the intent to deceive as part of some propaganda effort. Accusations of falsehood in antiquity are not unusual. Even the great Greek historian, Herodotus, acclaimed by some as the “Father of History,” was already in antiquity denounced by others as the “Father of Lies.” Ancient religion as well as ancient morality show awareness of the danger. The ninth of the Ten Commandments forbids the bearing of “false witness”—the original Hebrew text simply reads “lies.” The inscription of Darius at Persepolis prays to Ahuramazda to protect the land from the three great enemies—foe, famine, and falsehood. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 489

Categorization

• SEED: Angle: Darius listing falsehood alongside foe and famine as a ‘great enemy’ — the ancient awareness that lying was a civilizational threat, useful against modern claims that disinformation is novel.
• CANDY: Herodotus dismissed in antiquity as ‘Father of Lies’ and the Persepolis inscription praying protection from foe, famine, and falsehood are both bright, shareable facts.
• XREF: connects to: Official condemnation of a philosopher’s work sparks desire to read it. — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 794