Don’t Fight Lies With Fear—Fight Them With Truth

If we abandon integrity in the name of urgency, we lose ourselves.

There’s a viral tweet making the rounds—one that claims to be from Liz Cheney and Me, and claims that a bill passed by the Republican Congress gives the President sweeping authoritarian powers: canceling elections, ignoring the Supreme Court, punishing political opponents, criminalizing speech and protest, and tracking VPNs. It sounds dystopian. It sounds terrifying.

It also isn’t true.

Let’s be very clear: no such bill has been passed. Not with those provisions. Not with anything even remotely that far-reaching. This is not a matter of interpretation or nuance—it is a fabrication. A lie.

I understand where the anxiety comes from. The threats to our democracy are very real. We’ve seen efforts to undermine elections, ignore the rule of law, politicize institutions, and manipulate the public with a steady stream of disinformation. I’ve been on the frontlines of that fight, and I know how exhausting and infuriating it can be.

But when we resort to fearmongering—no matter how well-intentioned—we are playing into the very dynamic we claim to oppose. We become just another voice in the noise machine, making it harder for Americans to separate truth from fiction. And in doing so, we weaken our greatest weapon: credibility.

During my time in Congress, I watched the far-right master this tactic. They distorted bills, twisted facts, and fueled public panic—not to inform, but to control. That kind of disinformation helped radicalize a movement. It hollowed out a once-principled party and left behind something barely recognizable. A party addicted to outrage, unmoored from reality.

Let’s not make that same mistake in the Democratic and independent movement. Let’s not become what we’re fighting against. We don’t need to match the far-right’s fear with our own version of it. We don’t need to twist the truth to get people’s attention. Because the truth, when told with clarity and conviction, is powerful enough.

We are in a fight for the future of our republic. That fight won’t be won with clickbait. It will be won with courage, consistency, and a commitment to truth even when it’s inconvenient—especially when it’s inconvenient.

If you share that tweet, you're not raising the alarm. You’re sounding a false one. You’re creating confusion in a time when clarity is crucial. And perhaps worst of all, you’re undermining the very values we claim to defend: honesty, accountability, and trust in the rule of law. It’s ok we all have fallen for this before, but we need to keep our guard up.

So yes—raise your voice. Speak out. Call for oversight. Fight for fair elections, for independent courts, for free speech. But do it grounded in reality, not viral fiction. Do it with integrity, not manipulation.

America is at a crossroads. But we’ve been here before. Our history is filled with moments when truth was under siege and fear ran high. And each time, it wasn’t the loudest voice that prevailed—it was the truest one.

So let’s be that voice. Let’s resist the urge to sensationalize. Let’s rise above the clickbait and stick to the facts. Because in this battle for our future, truth is not just a virtue—it’s our weapon.

And if we stick to it, we will win.