Needed: a Proverbal Liar

[Jona Lendering]

For the past three years, I have been checking the ancient history news on the internet. This Autumn, I will write an article about it, which will be very pessimistic. Most news is (a) no news at all, (b) exaggerated, or © simply untrue. I want to end my article by introducing something that until now, when I was thinking about this, I have called the "Von Däniken Scale":

1 = This press release is angling for attentions
2 = Correct facts, exaggerated claims
3 = Incorrect facts, correct interpretation
4 = Incorrect facts, exaggerated claims
5 = Incorrect facts, incorrect interpretation (logical fallacies, etc).
Etc.

Perhaps subdivided for the person who makes the error - someone with an MA is not supposed to make logical fallacies, so he should be graded a bit higher.

The aim is to have a bit of fun, and draw attention to a serious journalistic problem. I have done something with the Castle of Amsterdam Award that I give every month to the most obvious attempt to influence the press and raise funds; several journalists have had a laugh and have realized that the press releases ought to be suspected.

The trouble is the name "Von Däniken". Of course the man's ideas are crackpot, and there's nothing wrong when you make fun of them; but I do not want to make fun of the man himself. So now I am looking for a proverbal liar from Antiquity. I have been thinking about Sinon (Trojan War) or the so-called historian Ctesias, but they are not the perfect candidate I am looking for.

Any suggestions?

[caiusbeerquitius]

You might find someone in Petronius or in Apuleius, I am quite sure.
Or in one of the comedies, Terentius, Plautus?

[Wander]

How about Pseudolus? ("The lying-est, cheating-est slave in all of Rome!") A lot of people will recognize the name from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, but I think the character originally comes from Plautus.

[hoplite14gr]

Lukianos.
The guy wrote "true-story" but in his preface he stated what he wrote was fiction-yet in medieval times his writings were used to prove the existance of "mythical beasts".

Kind regards

[Restitvtvs]

For the past three years, I have been checking the ancient history news on the internet. This Autumn, I will write an article about it, which will be very pessimistic. Most news is (a) no news at all, (b) exaggerated, or © simply untrue. I want to end my article by introducing something that until now, when I was thinking about this, I have called the "Von Däniken Scale":

1 = This press release is angling for attentions
2 = Correct facts, exaggerated claims
3 = Incorrect facts, correct interpretation
4 = Incorrect facts, exaggerated claims
5 = Incorrect facts, incorrect interpretation (logical fallacies, etc).
Etc.

Perhaps subdivided for the person who makes the error - someone with an MA is not supposed to make logical fallacies, so he should be graded a bit higher.

The aim is to have a bit of fun, and draw attention to a serious journalistic problem. I have done something with the Castle of Amsterdam Award that I give every month to the most obvious attempt to influence the press and raise funds; several journalists have had a laugh and have realized that the press releases ought to be suspected.

The trouble is the name "Von Däniken". Of course the man's ideas are crackpot, and there's nothing wrong when you make fun of them; but I do not want to make fun of the man himself. So now I am looking for a proverbal liar from Antiquity. I have been thinking about Sinon (Trojan War) or the so-called historian Ctesias, but they are not the perfect candidate I am looking for.

Any suggestions?

Name? "Pseudolus" fits well.

If you change your mind about a more contemporary name, then perhaps... "Flanagan Scale"

Named after the ficticious Mr. Tommy Flanagan, President of "Pathological Liars Anonymous". (photo below)

A "Saturday Night Live" sketch character, played by Jon Lovitz, Master Thespian. :lol:

The proposed rating system reminds me of the Admiralty Code.

This is a military intelligence (too easy... :wink: ) data rating system, like a matrix, with one axis to rate data source reliability, and the other axis to rate information accuracy. Albeit somewhat subjective, each axis is a consistent linear scale, with logical sequence/progression.

[Jona Lendering]

I have decided to use Ctesias, that Greek Munchhausen. The Ctesias Scale of Lousy Journalism will be incredibly useful for my newsletter. Yet, the Scale belongs to everyone who needs it: feel free to use it for your own purposes.

[Salvianus]

Excellent idea, Jona, would that all news was scrutinised as critically!

[Jona Lendering]

I hope to publish an article, somewhere in November, in which I will give an overview of the quality of the news over the past three months. It will be rather negative, I am afraid.