Half Truth

I didn't steal your password to watch movies this week. Does something feel a little deceptive about that sentence? The addition of this week implies that there's more to the story. Maybe the next sentence would be I stole your password last week. This sneaky wording presents only part of the truth.

Definition of a Half-Truth

Presenting part of the truth is also called presenting a half-truth.

Despite its name, a half-truth is not considered a truth at all. Benjamin Franklin included this adage in his book Poor Richard's Almanack (1758):¹

With this saying, Benjamin Franklin points out that omitting parts of the truth is deceptive, just like lying outright. Even if a statement is technically true, when it leaves out crucial pieces of information, it can't be considered a truth.

Fig. 1 - Benjamin Franklin said, "Half the truth is often a great lie."

The term half-truth primarily describes an intentionally-deceptive statement. However, this isn't always the case; a half-truth can result from a simple mistake in logic or disorganized writing. The problem is that an accidental half-truth could seem like an intentional half-truth to the audience. It's important to be able to recognize half-truths to avoid accidentally creating them in your own writing.

Purpose of Presenting Half of the Truth

The purpose of a half-truth is to present a speaker or argument in a flattering way. This can mean evading blame, inflating importance or power, or projecting confidence.

Fig. 2 - Lying by presenting part of the truth is still lying.

Evading blame: half-truths are often used to help the speaker avoid responsibility or blame. When the most incriminating parts of a story are removed, the speaker seems innocent.

Inflating importance or power: a half-truth can erase the speaker's guilt and exaggerate the speaker's role in favorable situations. The person who added the least to a group project can place their name at the top of the paper and claim a large portion of the work.

Projecting confidence: a half-truth can make a shaky opinion seem like a hard fact. It uses clever wording to strengthen an argument or weaken an opposing argument. This kind of half-truth is common in data bias, where data is presented selectively to make a theory seem stronger than it is.

Example of a Half-Truth

The tricky factor of a half-truth is that it doesn't directly say anything false. This can sometimes make a half-truth difficult to spot. These examples demonstrate each purpose of a half-truth.

Evading Blame

Revealing only part of the truth can help a guilty speaker reduce or entirely avoid blame in a situation. Take this example:

The half-truth makes the speaker seem innocent. The speaker uses it to avoid telling the whole truth: that the mailbox and the car are now ruined.

Inflating Importance or Power

This example shows how half-truths can make a speaker seem more important, knowledgeable, or powerful.

Wording the sentence this way makes the speaker's cousin seem knowledgeable and competent as a "doctor." It misrepresents her true expertise in archaeology as medical knowledge.

Projecting Confidence

Presenting part of the truth can make ideas, beliefs, and theories seem like solid facts. It can help a speaker come across as more confident than they really are. This is common when presenting data, like in this example:

The speaker makes a bold statement and discredits another study, leaving out their own study's limits. The results don't support the speaker's conclusion as strongly as the statement claims.

Characteristics of a Half-Truth Presentation

Truth can be bent or omitted in multiple ways.

• leaving out important information
• using misleading wording
• taking advantage of double meaning.

These examples show each half-truth characteristic in action.

Leaving Out Important Information

Selectively sharing parts of a story while leaving out others allows the speaker to control the story.

Everything in the example sentence is true, but vital information is missing. The missing information changes the audience's understanding of the events.

Using Misleading Wording

Misleading wording can distract the audience from missing information.

This is an excerpt from the 1990 book Jurassic Park by Michael Chrichton.² The character John Hammond explains to Alan Grant that he purchased a remote island to genetically engineer dinosaurs. His answer to Grant's question implies that he keeps the project secret in order to surprise the public. In reality, he keeps it secret to hide it from the government and competing businesses. He uses this half-truth to convince Grant that the project is legitimate and well-controlled.

Fig. 3 - In Jurassic Park, John Hammond uses a half-truth when explaining why he kept his project a secret.

Taking Advantage of Double Meaning

Some half-truths are deceptive because they purposely remove vital information. Others are deceptive because they are easily misinterpreted. Words and phrases with double meanings can be used to blur the truth.

This quote is from the 1991 movieThe Silence of the Lambs. After escaping prison, the serial killer "Hannibal the Cannibal" says the cheeky line, "I'm having an old friend for dinner." The most common interpretation of the sentence is that he is inviting a friend over; but of course, Hannibal truly means that the old friend is his dinner. The sentence's double meaning makes Hannibal's true intent less clear.

Half-Truth Fallacy

Half-truths are deceptive because they can lead the audience to false conclusions. This is a common rhetorical fallacy resulting from half-truths.

Whether intentional or unintentional, presenting part of the truth creates a deceptive argument. Here is an example of the faulty conclusions that result from the half-truth fallacy.

What is the problem with the half-truth in this example? The news article leaves out the fact that the new mayor hasn't really improved the initiative. This could lead the readers to the false conclusion that the mayor is actively helping to end homelessness. It could lead voters who support the initiative to vote for somebody who stands against it. The statement creates a half-truth fallacy that misleads potential voters.

The audience in this example could avoid being misled by asking follow-up questions: how did the mayor contribute to the initiative? What are the mayor's plans for the initiative moving forward? Asking questions and reading critically will help you avoid the half-truth fallacy.

¹ Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack (1758).

² Michael Chrichton, Jurassic Park (1990).

³ Jonathan Demme, The Silence of the Lambs (1991).