If you tell a lie three times people will believe it's true.

Humans aren't properly wired to deal with lies.  From an evolutionary standpoint it wasn't necessary.  Truth was based on our own experiences and actions.  We knew what we heard, saw and did, because we experienced it ourselves.

But now that our experiences have become mostly virtual we are reliant on what others tell us about events. And that's a problem because our brains mistake familiarity for truth.  The more often we hear something the more likely we are to believe it's true.

Research shows that after the third time we hear a lie we believe it's true, even if it contradicts a previously held belief.  And even if it is labeled as false. (Fazio, Brashier, Payne & Marsh, 2015)

It's no wonder then that once the polls showed Trump losing he doubled down on his criticism of mail-in voting despite the fact that he himself votes by mail.  And, as his numbers have continued to sink he has upped the ante to claim that if he doesn't win the election it will be because of fraud. 

You can expect him to keep repeating that lie over and over again until November 3rd.  Because he knows that if he does, some people will be fooled.

Will you be one of them?

Fazio, L., Brashier, N., Payne, B. & Marsh, E.  (2015, August 24)  Knowledge Does Not Protect Against Illusory Truth.  Journal of Experimental Psychology.  Retrieved August 26, 2020, from https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/xge-0000098.pdf