Is truth always effective?

I want truth to always be more effective than a lie, but sometimes it's not. Here's how we can change that.

I was told when I first launched Truth Delta that truth-telling doesn’t have enough mass appeal to make a profit. Touché. But I began this publication because I believe there is intrinsic moral value in speaking truth, no matter how unpopular, unprofitable, and maybe even ineffective it might be.

Is speaking the truth always the best way to get results? I really want it to be. But I can imagine scenarios where maximum truth might not equal maximum effectiveness. If a man breaks into your house and threatens your family, do you tell him where they are at? I hope not. That might be maximum truth, but it would be minimally effective at keeping your family safe.

That’s just hypothetical, you say. True enough. So let’s pull something right out of the headlines. The government knew the Covid vaccines had health risks, yet they asked tech companies to censor “often-true content” in social media posts since max truth in that case would “increase vaccine hesitancy.” This isn’t conspiracy theory,…