Deception (or mystification) is to intentionally distort the truth in order to mislead others. Deception is involved in propaganda and game theory (to deceive the opponents). Deception, rather than falsehood, is the essence of the lie.^{[citation needed]} Thus, fiction is not true by definition, but is not taken as a lie or a deception. The reader of fiction has the duty to protect himself from deception. What one believes to be true is not a lie, though not true. Thus, freedom of speech gives the right to express statements that are in fact not true, and which may or may not have the intent to deceive. Common dictionary definitions of truth mention some form of accord with fact or reality. ... An Australian anti-conscription propaganda poster from World War One Propaganda is a certain type of message presentation directly aimed at manipulating the opinions or behavior of people, rather than impartially providing information. ... Game theory is most often described as a branch of applied mathematics and economics that studies situations where players choose different actions in an attempt to maximize their returns. ... This page is about untruth. ...

In many cases it is difficult, even in hindsight, to distinguish deception by somebody or an organization from providing unintentionally wrong information. One of the reasons is that a person or an entire organization may be self-deceived. Self-deception is a process of denying or rationalizing away the relevance, significance, or importance of opposing evidence and argument. ...

There are two classes of deception: concealing the truth (dissimulate or gloss over) and exhibiting false information (simulate).

Dissimulation

Dissimulation consist in concealing the truth, or in the case of half-truths, concealing parts of the truth, like inconvenient or secret information. There are three dissimulation techniques: camouflage (blend into the background), disguise appearance (altering the model) and dazzle (obfuscate the model). Half-truths are deceptive statements, that include some element of truth. ... Secrecy is the condition of hiding information from others. ... Anolis caroliensis showing blending camouflage and counter-shading A flounder blends in with its environment. ...

Camouflage

The camouflage of a physical object often works by breaking up the visual boundary of that object. This usually involves colouring the camouflaged object with the same colours as the background against which the object will be hidden. In the realm of deceptive half-truths camouflage is realized by 'hiding' some of the truths. Anolis caroliensis showing blending camouflage and counter-shading A flounder blends in with its environment. ... Half-truths are deceptive statements, that include some element of truth. ...

See also: glittering generalities and transfer within the techniques of propaganda generation

Example: Glittering generalities are emotionally appealing words so closely associated with highly valued concepts and beliefs that they carry conviction without supporting information or reason. ... An Australian anti-conscription propaganda poster from World War One Propaganda is a certain type of message presentation directly aimed at manipulating the opinions or behavior of people, rather than impartially providing information. ...

• Camouflage as a form of visual deception is an essential part of modern military tactics.

Camouflage became an essential part of modern military tactics after the increase in accuracy and rate of fire of weapons at the end of the 19th century. ... Military tactics (Greek: Taktikē, the art of organizing an army) is the collective name for methods of engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. ...

Disguise appearance

A disguise is an appearance to create the impression of being somebody or something else; for a well-known person this is also called incognito.

Example:

• The fictional Sherlock Holmes often disguised himself as somebody else to avoid being recognized.

In a more abstract sense, 'disguise' may refer to the act of disguising the nature of a particular proposal in order to hide an unpopular motivation or effect associated with that proposal. This is a form of political spin or propaganda. See also: rationalisation and transfer within the techniques of propaganda generation. Sherlock Holmes as imagined by the seminal Holmesian artist, Sidney Paget, in The Strand magazine. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... An Australian anti-conscription propaganda poster from World War One Propaganda is a certain type of message presentation directly aimed at manipulating the opinions or behavior of people, rather than impartially providing information. ... An Australian anti-conscription propaganda poster from World War One Propaganda is a certain type of message presentation directly aimed at manipulating the opinions or behavior of people, rather than impartially providing information. ...

Example:

• Depicting an act of war as a "peace" mission.

Dazzle

See also: distraction by phenomenon within the article Media manipulation

Examples: The process of media manipulation is the way in which individuals or groups use various tricks in dealing with the media in order to create an image of their side of an argument that is most favorable to the receiver. ...

• The defensive mechanisms of most octopuses to eject a thick blackish ink in a large cloud to aid in escaping from predators.

Families 14 in two suborders, see text The octopus is a cephalopod of the order Octopoda that inhabits many diverse regions of the ocean, especially coral reefs. ... An ink is a liquid containing various pigments and/or dyes used for colouring a surface to render an image or text. ...

Simulation

Simulation consist in exhibiting false information. There are three simulation techniques: mimicry (copying another model), fabricate (making up a new model), attract (offering an alternative model) A mimic is any species that has evolved to appear similar to another successful species in order to dupe predators into avoiding the mimic, or dupe prey into approaching the mimic. ...

Mimicry

In the animal world this is via resemblance of one organism to another, or to a natural object. Animals often attempt to deceive predators or prey by their appearance or behavior. Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera Subregnum Eumetazoa Placozoa Orthonectida Rhombozoa Radiata (unranked) Ctenophora Cnidaria Bilateria (unranked) Acoelomorpha Myxozoa Superphylum Deuterostomia Chordata Hemichordata Echinodermata Chaetognatha Xenoturbellida Superphylum Ecdysozoa Kinorhyncha Loricifera Priapulida Nematoda Nematomorpha Onychophora Tardigrada Arthropoda Superphylum Platyzoa Platyhelminthes Gastrotricha Rotifera Acanthocephala Gnathostomulida Micrognathozoa Cycliophora Superphylum Lophotrochozoa Sipuncula Nemertea Phoronida Bryozoa Entoprocta...

Fabricate

To make something that in reality is not what it appears to be. For example, in WW2, it was common for the Allies to use hollow tanks made out of cardboard to fool German recon planes into thinking a large armor unit was on the move in one area while the real tanks were well hidden and on the move in a location far from the fabricated "dummy" tanks. Mixed reconaissance patrol of the Polish Home Army and the Soviet Red Army during Operation Tempest, 1944 Reconnaissance is the military term for the active gathering of information about an enemy, or other conditions, by physical observation. ...

Attract

To get someone's attention from the truth by offering bait or something else more tempting to divert attention away from the object being concealed. For example, a security company publicly announces that it will ship a large gold shipment down one route, while in reality take a completely different alternate route.

See also

Betrayal, as a form of deception or dismissal of prior presumptions, is the breaking or violation of a presumptive social contract (trust, or confidence) that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongs individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations. ... In telecommunication, the term communications deception has the following meanings: 1. ... A confidence trick, confidence game, also known as a con, scam, grift or flim flam, is an attempt to intentionally mislead a person or persons (known as the mark) usually with the goal of financial or other gain. ... In telecommunication, the term electronic deception means the deliberate radiation, reradiation, alteration, suppression, absorption, denial, enhancement, or reflection of electromagnetic energy in a manner intended to convey misleading information and to deny valid information to an enemy or to enemy electronics-dependent weapons. ... Forgery is the process of making or adapting objects or documents (see false document), with the intention to deceive. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A hoax is an attempt to trick an audience into believing that something false is real. ... This page is about untruth. ... Ad Council Americas Army, video game produced by the U.S. government with the stated aim of encouraging players to become interested in joining the U.S. Army. ... The process of media manipulation is the way in which individuals or groups use various tricks in dealing with the media in order to create an image of their side of an argument that is most favorable to the receiver. ... Media Transparency is the concept of determining how and why information is conveyed through various means. ... Misdirection is a form of deception, where one feints in a particular course, and then exploits the misled pursuers mistake to escape, or remain undetected. ... Newspeak is a fictional language in George Orwells novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. ... This phishing attempt, disguised as an official email from a (fictional) bank, attempts to trick the banks members into giving away their account information by confirming it at the phishers linked website. ... The technical term placebo is precisely applied in the specialized medical domains of pharmacology, nosology, and aetiology to denote the pharmacologically inert, dummy simulator of an active drug that serves as a scientific control in clinical trials designed to determine the clinical efficacy of that particular drug. ... An Australian anti-conscription propaganda poster from World War One Propaganda is a certain type of message presentation directly aimed at manipulating the opinions or behavior of people, rather than impartially providing information. ... It has been suggested that infowars be merged into this article or section. ... Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from others. ... The word selectivity has more meanings: Selectivity, the ability to notice/distinguish small differences. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... In law enforcement a sting operation is an operation designed to catch a person committing a crime, by means of deception. ... The Theft Act 1968 (1968 c. ... The Theft Act 1978 supplemented the earlier deception offences contained in ss15 and 16 Theft Act 1968 by reforming some aspects of those offences and adding new provisions. ... Steganography is the art and science of writing hidden messages in such a way that no one apart from the intended recipient knows of the existence of the message; this is in contrast to cryptography, where the existence of the message itself is not disguised, but the content is obscured. ...

References

• Behrens, Roy R. (2002). FALSE COLORS: Art, Design and Modern Camouflage. Bobolink Books. ISBN 0-9713244-0-9.
• Blechman, Hardy and Newman, Alex (2004). DPM: Disruptive Pattern Material. DPM Ltd. ISBN 0-9543404-0-X.
• Bruce Schneier, Secrets and Lies