The Big Lie about the 2020 Election was hardly the first or even the Biggest of the Big Lies in American history — fomented in vast majority by the right wing. Call it a personality trait, an ideology, or perhaps a financial preference — but Republicans seem to lean towards the disingenuous end of the truth scale.
What are Big Lies?
A Big Lie refers to a propaganda technique that involves repeating a falsehood or exaggeration so frequently and convincingly that people begin to accept it as truth. The term was popularized by Adolf Hitler in his book Mein Kampf, where he wrote that propaganda must be based on a “big lie” because people are counterintuitively more likely to believe a colossal falsehood than a small one because of its sheer audacity.
The technique of the Big Lie is often used by authoritarian leaders, political parties, and movements to manipulate public opinion and gain power. It relies on the psychological phenomenon known as the “illusory truth effect,” which suggests that people are more likely to believe something if they hear it repeatedly. Ironically, even a debunking of the Big Lie can contribute to the illusory truth effect by keeping the content of the falsehood top of mind in the eye of the believer.
Examples of Big Lies
Examples of the Big Lie include the election denial claim that the 2020 US presidential election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, the false assertion that vaccines cause autism, and the Nazi propaganda (blood libel and global cabal theory, among other hateful ideologies) that blamed Germany’s problems on the Jewish people, scapegoating them unfairly and setting up a justification for the horrific murder at scale known as the Holocaust.
The danger of the Big Lie is that it can lead to widespread disinformation, polarization and hyper partisanship, and even violence. It is essential to fact-check claims and resist the impulse to accept information at face value. Instead, critical thinking, fact-checking, and seeking out multiple sources of information can help individuals and society avoid falling prey to the Big Lie.
The following table is a compendium of GOP Big Lies known so far.
| Myth | Definition |
|---|---|
| "Antifa did it" | This is a pre-planned "reusable" false narrative for right-wing extremist actions. It's a ready-made "false false flag" conspiracy for repeated deployment as white supremacists and homegrown extremists ratchet up the level of political violence. |
| "government overreach" | When Democrats pass a law that Republicans don't like |
| "Makers and takers" | A cynical narrative that splits society into "productive" and "dependent" classes, casting essential public support as a parasitic burden — while conveniently ignoring the subsidies that keep powerful corporations in business. |
| "National security party" | Self-proclaimed guardians of national defense, the GOP often prioritize partisan agendas over genuine security concerns, blurring the lines between safeguarding Americans and scoring political points. |
| "Quality" of votes | By emphasizing “quality” over “quantity” in voting, the GOP taps into thinly veiled elitism, subtly endorsing the restriction of voting access to groups who may not support their power hold. |
| 2nd Amendment | The GOP’s devotion to the Second Amendment borders on the sacred, promoting unrestricted access to firearms in the name of "freedom" while dismissing the deadly toll of gun violence as a necessary cost. |
| 2000 Mules | 2000 Mules is a discredited conspiracy theory film by right-wing activist Dinesh D’Souza that falsely claims a vast network of "ballot mules" engaged in widespread voter fraud to rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The film's claims rely on misleading interpretations of geolocation data and have been thoroughly debunked by election officials, fact-checkers, and independent experts. |
| Abu Ghraib | The torture and abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison showed how the GOP’s post-9/11 policies spiraled out of control, ultimately staining America's global reputation in the name of a warped version of patriotism. |
| American Dream | They inverted it away from a sense of social justice and equal opportunity (self-governance) to simply embody the venal pursuit of money. |
| America First | Invoked by right-wing propaganda campaigns over the past century, starting with Charles Lindbergh in 1939 through to Reagan (1980s), and again with lazy plagiarizing Donnie |
| American Exceptionalism | A relentless insistence on America's supposed moral superiority, this myth ignores deep-rooted systemic issues and serves as a deflection tactic to dismiss legitimate critiques — because nothing says "exceptional" like refusing to self-reflect. |
| Anti-gay | Masked as “family values,” GOP rhetoric often undermines LGBTQ+ rights, framing queer Americans as cultural threats while stoking a narrative of moral panic that distracts from genuine issues of equality. |
| Anti-immigrant | By painting immigrants as scapegoats for economic and social ills, the GOP has turned a nation of immigrants against itself, relying on fearmongering rather than addressing the root causes of immigration. |
| Anti-Tax | A knee-jerk opposition to taxes serves as the GOP's rallying cry, despite relying on the very social systems taxes support — a contradiction often buried under rhetoric of “liberty” and “small government.” |
| Be Best | Melania Trump's so-called anti-bullying initiative provided a hollow public image for an administration that thrived on divisive rhetoric, exposing the emptiness of performative kindness undercut by the reality of inflammatory policies. |
| Black and white thinking | GOP messaging favors oversimplified “us versus them” narratives, reducing complex social issues to crude binaries that stoke outrage, sidestepping nuanced policy discussion to breed tribalism and division. |
| Blacks are commies | An outdated, racially-charged trope, this smear invokes anti-communist hysteria to demonize Black political activism, relying on fear and racism to dismiss any push for equality as a “threat” to the American status quo. |
| Cancel culture | A rallying cry against accountability, "cancel culture" has become a GOP catch-all for criticism, conflating consequences with censorship to defend offensive rhetoric and shield high-profile figures from scrutiny. |
| Christian nationalism | Cloaked in patriotism, Christian nationalism seeks to merge religious and political identity, positioning one faith as the cornerstone of American identity while undermining the separation of church and state. |
| Cities are bad | GOP rhetoric frequently demonizes urban areas as crime-ridden wastelands, reinforcing class and racial divides while ignoring cities' economic contributions and the diverse lives and communities they house. |
| Climate change is a hoax | Labeling climate change as “fake news” dismisses overwhelming scientific evidence, allowing the GOP to sidestep environmental responsibility while protecting fossil fuel interests over global health. |
| Coastal elites | A classic strawman, "coastal elites" are cast as out-of-touch adversaries of "real America," fanning division while distracting from policy issues affecting everyday lives across the country. |
| Communists | Any left-leaning policy or social progressivism is denounced as “communist” to trigger Cold War fears, as the GOP weaponizes this loaded term to shut down discussions on equity and social reform. |
| Confederate statues | Defending Confederate statues under the guise of “heritage” ignores the painful legacy of slavery and oppression these symbols represent, perpetuating a sanitized version of history that glosses over systemic racism. |
| Conscience voters | Dismissed as disloyal by the GOP, "conscience voters" are cast as obstacles rather than principled citizens, downplaying the importance of voting based on integrity, ethics, and democratic values. |
| Corporate liberals | The GOP paints "corporate liberals" as hypocritical elites more interested in profits than principles, wielding this label to deflect from their own corporate ties while portraying the left as disconnected from "real" Americans. |
| Covid is a hoax; covid is overblown | By dismissing COVID-19 as either nonexistent or exaggerated, the GOP stoked dangerous misinformation, downplaying a global health crisis that required collective action for the sake of short-term political gain. |
| Covid is no big deal | Framing COVID-19 as minor trivialized the virus’s severe health impacts, a tactic that encouraged disregard for safety measures and contributed to preventable illness and loss, all in the name of “freedom.” |
| Crime | GOP messaging inflates crime rates in an effort to spark fear and justify “law and order” crackdowns, often targeting urban areas and minority communities to stoke racial and class anxieties. |
| crisis actor | Dismissing tragedy survivors as “crisis actors” has become a tactic to discredit those advocating for change, a cruel narrative that undermines empathy and dismisses firsthand accounts as part of a conspiratorial plot. |
| Critical Race Theory | A recent GOP boogeyman, Critical Race Theory is misrepresented as an attempt to “divide” America, redirecting attention from real racial inequities by framing academic discussions as ideological threats. |
| Cry more, lib | A favorite GOP taunt, "cry more, lib" embodies an anti-empathetic, combative stance that prioritizes “owning the libs” over constructive dialogue, turning polarization into an entertainment sport. |
| Democrats are Satanic | Conspiratorial fearmongering at its peak, branding Democrats as "satanic" plays on religious anxieties and paints political opponents as morally depraved rather than simply ideologically opposed. |
| Drain the Swamp | Rather than rid Washington of its layers of corrupt supplicants as he had promised on the campaign trail, he invited all of his cronies in to benefit from the greatest expansion of corrupt graft under any President we know of thus far. |
| Economic superiority | The GOP often touts its economic policies as inherently superior, claiming to champion “free markets” while endorsing tax cuts and deregulation that benefit the wealthiest at the expense of average Americans. |
| Election integrity | Cloaked in concern for “election integrity,” this rhetoric is frequently code for voter suppression, sowing doubt in democratic systems under the guise of preventing fraud that is statistically negligible. |
| elites should rule others | Though they publicly denounce “elites,” the GOP has long relied on an entrenched hierarchy where wealthy insiders set policy, tacitly endorsing a class structure that keeps power in privileged hands. |
| Elite resentment | By stoking resentment toward "elites," the GOP strategically channels legitimate frustrations into distrust of institutions, framing experts as adversaries to push an anti-intellectual, populist agenda. |
| Enemy of the people | Borrowed from authoritarian playbooks, calling the media the “enemy of the people” undermines journalism’s role in holding power accountable, fostering public distrust in factual reporting while insulating the party from critique. |
| Flawed savior | GOP leaders often frame their candidates as “flawed saviors,” humanizing their shortcomings as “authentic” while expecting voters to overlook misdeeds under the pretense of fighting a “greater evil.” |
| Free speech | The GOP champions “free speech” as a shield for offensive rhetoric, selectively defending it to legitimize hate and conspiracy while casting opponents’ criticism as censorship. |
| Freedom of religion | Under the banner of “religious freedom,” the GOP has promoted policies that privilege Christian beliefs, framing inclusivity as a threat and sidelining the rights of non-Christians and secular Americans. |
| George Soros | Hungarian billionaire whose liberal politics irritate Vladimir Putin. Cast as a shadowy puppet master, George Soros has become the GOP’s favorite boogeyman, allowing them to funnel fears of globalism and liberal influence into a single, often antisemitic, scapegoat for everything they oppose. |
| Government is the enemy | By branding government as the enemy, the GOP promotes a “small government” narrative that frames public institutions as inherently oppressive, ignoring the role of government in providing essential services that benefit all citizens. |
| Government spending | The GOP’s criticism of “government spending” rarely applies to military or corporate subsidies; instead, they use it to vilify social programs, pushing a selective austerity that prioritizes profit over public welfare. |
| Great Man theory | Embraced by the GOP to justify outsized authority, the Great Man theory glorifies “strong leaders” as irreplaceable forces of change, ignoring the systemic contributions of everyday people and fostering a culture of authoritarian admiration. |
| Guantanamo Bay | Once heralded as a necessary response to terrorism, Guantanamo Bay remains a symbol of human rights abuses and unchecked government power, its continued existence a stain on America’s reputation and a testament to a decade of bipartisan moral compromise. |
| Heroic redeemer | The GOP often casts its figureheads as “heroic redeemers,” saviors of American values who will “restore” the nation, a narrative that overlooks their own policy failings and breeds an unquestioning devotion to the leader over democratic principles. |
| Hollywood | Part of an "excuse framework" to ignore or dismiss something, by smearing it with vague "Hollywoodness." A cue to tune out and discredit the source. Prominent in the Qanon ideology. |
| Identity politics | The GOP decries identity politics as divisive, dismissing the legitimate pursuit of marginalized groups’ rights as “playing victim,” all while promoting their own forms of identity-based rhetoric tied to nationalism and traditional values. |
| Insults | Rather than engaging in substantive debate, GOP discourse increasingly leans on insults and ad hominem attacks, a tactic that lowers the bar for political discourse while energizing a base attracted to combative rhetoric. |
| Jim Crow | Modern GOP policies echo Jim Crow tactics in their approach to voting rights and policing, subtly reinforcing racial hierarchies through “law and order” rhetoric and voter ID laws that disproportionately impact minority communities. |
| Job creators | Framed as economic heroes, “job creators” are often just wealthy corporations and CEOs receiving tax breaks, with the GOP perpetuating this myth to justify policies that favor the richest while sidelining workers' rights and fair wages. |
| Kyle Rittenhouse deification | Rittenhouse has been elevated as a GOP folk hero, a troubling symbol that valorizes vigilantism and extreme interpretations of self-defense laws while casting violent actions as “patriotic.” |
| Law and order | The GOP’s “law and order” mantra prioritizes punishment over justice, often targeting marginalized communities and framing police authority as infallible, even as it dismisses accountability for law enforcement abuses. |
| Leftist apocalypse | GOP rhetoric about a “leftist apocalypse” is designed to incite fear, painting progressive policies as dystopian threats to freedom while diverting attention from their own regressive agendas. |
| Liberals | “Liberal” has become a GOP catch-all slur, evoking disdain for progressive values and framing anyone left of center as a radical, promoting tribalism over thoughtful discourse on policy differences. |
| Lost Cause | An American mythology manufactured after the Civil War by the Confederates, to soothe their wounds from the loss and whitewash the role of slavery in fomenting their sedition. In the Reconstruction era and beyond, the retcon held that "states' rights" had animated the southern states to secede from the union when in fact, the bitter contest had been inarguably about whether or not the peculiar institution was to continue in the new nation. |
| MAGA | More than a slogan, “Make America Great Again” has become a rallying cry for a brand of nationalism that idealizes a past rife with exclusion and inequality, often as a coded appeal to reverse social progress under the guise of patriotism. |
| Marxism | GOP discourse uses “Marxism” as a catch-all for any progressive policy, conflating social welfare and economic regulation with authoritarianism, and fanning fears that equity is a slippery slope to state control. |
| minority rule | By leveraging mechanisms like gerrymandering and the electoral college, the GOP has solidified a power structure that enables them to hold influence even without majority support, subverting democratic norms to preserve a shrinking voter base. |
| Mueller Report | Originally heralded as a potential political reckoning, the Mueller Report was quickly undermined by the GOP as “partisan overreach,” minimizing credible findings to cast the investigation as a witch hunt rather than a check on foreign influence. |
| Muzzled | The GOP often claims they are “muzzled” by media and tech, positioning themselves as victims of censorship while using the supposed suppression to bolster a narrative that mainstream platforms are hostile to conservative voices. |
| National debt | Suddenly out of nowhere (aka, when a Democrat comes to town), the national debt is a pressing problem. The GOP selectively decries the national debt to criticize social spending, yet they rarely extend this scrutiny to defense budgets or tax cuts for the wealthy, using debt concerns to mask their true fiscal priorities. |
| Nostalgia | GOP rhetoric often hinges on nostalgia for a “simpler time,” romanticizing a selective history that erases social struggles, casting the past as a lost ideal in order to resist modern demands for inclusion and justice. |
| Personal responsibility | The GOP promotes “personal responsibility” as a rationale to dismantle social safety nets, shifting the burden of systemic issues onto individuals and minimizing the need for collective solutions to inequality. |
| Poll taxes | Modern GOP voter restrictions echo the discriminatory legacy of poll taxes, targeting marginalized groups under the guise of “election security” to limit access to the ballot for those unlikely to support conservative candidates. |
| Pro-life | “Pro-life” rhetoric is selectively applied to abortion by the GOP, often ignoring broader life-affirming policies like healthcare and social support that ensure quality of life, reducing complex issues to a single, polarizing stance. |
| QAnon | Once fringe, QAnon’s conspiratorial beliefs have been embraced by some in the mainstream GOP, spreading dangerous misinformation and fostering a distrust in democratic institutions by framing political opponents as part of a hidden, sinister elite. |
| Racism | GOP rhetoric often denies systemic racism, framing the issue as either exaggerated or solved, dismissing discussions on race as divisive “identity politics” and obstructing efforts toward equity and reform. |
| Reaganomics | The GOP continues to champion Reaganomics, despite decades of evidence that trickle-down policies have widened inequality, promoting tax cuts for the wealthy as an unquestioned formula for prosperity that largely benefits the elite. |
| Refuse to recognize the legitimacy of one's opponent | The GOP’s growing refusal to accept opponents’ legitimacy fuels a dangerous precedent of distrust in democratic processes, painting opposition victories as fraudulent rather than respecting the will of the electorate. |
| Religious freedom | Under the guise of “religious freedom,” the GOP champions policies that often privilege Christian beliefs over others, using faith as a shield to justify discrimination and exclude non-Christian communities from equal rights. |
| Run the country like a business | The GOP’s push to “run the country like a business” favors profit over people, promoting efficiency at the expense of social welfare and ignoring the unique role of government in safeguarding public well-being over private gain. |
| Sadism | GOP rhetoric and policies sometimes border on sadistic, reveling in punitive measures that target vulnerable groups, from restricting social services to celebrating harsh sentencing, with cruelty often spun as “tough love.” |
| silent majority | Invoking the “silent majority” allows the GOP to claim moral high ground for their agenda, positioning themselves as the voice of “real” Americans while dismissing progressive movements as fringe or unrepresentative. |
| small government | The GOP mantra of “small government” selectively shrinks programs that benefit the public, while expanding government’s reach in areas like policing, reproductive rights, and military spending, revealing a selective interpretation of freedom. |
| Social Justice Warriors | Dismissed as “Social Justice Warriors,” those who advocate for equality and reform are mocked by the GOP as overly sensitive or “woke,” reframing calls for justice as extremist demands in an effort to downplay systemic issues. |
| Socialism | Used as a GOP scare word, “socialism” encompasses everything from universal healthcare to progressive taxation, stoking Cold War-era fears to oppose any policy that might threaten corporate interests or reduce inequality. |
| States' rights | The GOP’s rallying cry of “states' rights” often justifies undermining federal protections, especially on issues like voting and civil rights, rehashing a states-versus-federal government narrative long used to resist progress. |
| The Big Lie | Propelled by the GOP, “The Big Lie” insists that the 2020 election was stolen, a baseless claim that undermines faith in democratic institutions and sets the stage for voter suppression efforts under the guise of so-called “election integrity.” |
| The Civil War wasn't about slavery | Reframing the Civil War as a conflict over “states' rights” sanitizes history, obscuring the central role of slavery and excusing the Confederacy’s legacy, which the GOP uses to appeal to certain voter bases. |
| The New Deal was bad for America | The GOP derides the New Deal as government overreach, ignoring its role in lifting the U.S. out of the Great Depression to push a narrative that prioritizes “free markets” over social welfare programs. |
| The Swamp | The GOP paints Washington as “the swamp” to capitalize on anti-establishment sentiment, yet often fills positions with insiders and lobbyists, exposing “drain the swamp” as a hollow slogan. |
| Trickle down economics | Despite decades of evidence showing it widens wealth gaps, the GOP clings to trickle-down economics, framing tax cuts for the wealthy as a benefit to all when, in reality, the wealth rarely “trickles down” to everyday Americans. |
| Trump "says it like it is" | This GOP defense casts Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric as “honesty,” portraying offensive comments as unfiltered truth rather than harmful language, allowing supporters to celebrate incivility as “authenticity.” |
| Uberman | Embracing a Nietzschean “uberman” ideal, some in the GOP glorify “strongmen” who embody unyielding authority, justifying authoritarian tendencies as a sign of strength while downplaying the need for democratic accountability. |
| Venezuela | The GOP uses Venezuela as a cautionary tale for any left-leaning policy, equating social welfare with economic collapse to stir fears of “socialist” policies that threaten American prosperity. |
| Voting is a privilege, not a right | Framing voting as a privilege, rather than a right, enables the GOP to justify restrictive policies that limit access, aiming to make the ballot box less accessible to certain demographics. |
| War on Christmas | The perennial “War on Christmas” narrative stokes cultural division by framing inclusive holiday practices as an attack on Christian traditions, positioning the GOP as defenders of religious heritage in a battle that barely exists. |
| Warmongers | While the GOP often presents itself as “pro-military,” critics see some members as warmongers, eager to engage in conflicts that benefit defense contractors and geopolitical power, sometimes at the cost of lives and diplomacy. |
| Welfare queens | Reviving Reagan-era rhetoric, “welfare queens” is a thinly veiled racist trope that paints those who need social assistance as cheats, justifying cuts to social programs under the guise of “fiscal responsibility.” |
| WMDs | The infamous “weapons of mass destruction” justification for the Iraq War became a hallmark of GOP-led misinformation, fueling a conflict on misleading grounds and setting a precedent for policy based on manufactured threats. |
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