Mark Twain? Baltasar Gracian? John Maynard Keynes? Norman Angell? Apocryphal?
Dear Quote Investigator: An energetic liar can confuse, mislead, and deceive people. Yet, in many cases, that same liar is unable to reverse the deception. Hoodwinked people embrace their misperceptions. Here is a pertinent adage:
It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.
Mark Twain has received credit for this statement, but I have been unable to find a citation, and I have become skeptical. Would you please explore this topic?
Quote Investigator: QI has found no substantive evidence that Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) authored this remark. The earliest close match known to QI appeared in a tweet transmitted on January 10, 2011. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:[1] Tweet, From: Joreth @Joreth, Time: 7:47 AM, Date: January 10, 2011, Text: It’s easier to fool ppl than… (Accessed on twitter.com on December 23, 2020) link
“It’s easier to fool ppl than to convince them that they’ve been fooled” ~Mark Twain #skeptic #atheist #skepticism
Thematically related statements have a long history, and Twain did express similar sentiments in 1906 as shown further below.
Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.
Continue reading It’s Easier To Fool People Than To Convince Them That They’ve Been Fooled