Our thinking

Pinocchio in politics

2 August, 2024

In a groundbreaking move, the Welsh government has committed to make lying illegal for members and candidates of the Senedd. Isn’t it already? You might well ask, but in other UK parliaments is it a matter of Ministerial Code and procedure (as a certain Boris Johnson would be able to tell you) rather than the rule of law.

This decision comes in response to a significant decline in public trust, with only 9% of British adults believing that politicians tell the truth. Compassion in Politics, an advocacy group, has long campaigned for criminal penalties for political dishonesty. Now, with the Welsh government supporting the idea, there’s speculation about whether Westminster and other governments will follow suit (especially given Keir Starmer’s pledge to rebuild trust in politics).

We’d love it to take hold in the US, where lying is a particularly poignant issue. Fact-checkers at the Washington Post reported that Donald Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims during his presidency, averaging an astonishing 21 lies a day! More recently, there have also been concerns over the use of AI to influence voters with misinformation in the run up to the US election. Earlier this week Elon Musk, a known Trump supporter, shared a manipulated video on X that convincingly imitated Kamala Harris’ voice. The AI-generated voice said “I, Kamala Harris, am your Democrat candidate for president because Joe Biden finally exposed his senility at the debate”. The video claims Harris is a “diversity hire” and she doesn’t know “the first thing about running the country.” Musk’s post, which including the caption “This is amazing” but failed to mention that it was a fake, reached over 130 million views.

There is no doubt that restoring public trust in politics (both in the US, Britain and around the world) is crucial. We hope the Welsh commitment to making lying illegal for politicians and candidates can help set a precedent globally and drive positive change.

By Charlotte Pounder