Jonathan Swift - A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes
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Welcome to The Daily Quote—a podcast designed to kickstart your day in a positive way. I'm your host, Andrew McGivern, for April 2nd.
Now, yesterday was April Fools’ Day, so naturally, today is International Fact-Checking Day—because after a whole day of pranks and misinformation, somebody’s gotta clean up the mess. And speaking of fact-checking, my friend and co-host of The Bunker Project Podcast, Bob Garlick, has been using AI to generate fact-checking posts and comments to diffuse the tension around crazy political statements and fake news. It's a cool use of technology and a lot of people have commented on how much they appreciate those posts. While some people are out here making deepfakes and AI-generated conspiracy theories, Bob's using AI to set the record straight. It’s like fighting fake fires with... a really well-researched fire extinguisher.
That brings us to today’s quote that is attributed to Jonathan Swift. He may have once said:
"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes."
Now, ironically, this quote itself has been misattributed so many times that it has its own fact-checking page. Some say it was Mark Twain, others claim it was Winston Churchill, but the actual origin seems to trace back to Swift. Which is kind of poetic—because even a quote about misinformation has been repeatedly misquoted.
But the point still stands. Lies spread fast—especially in the internet age, where a sensational story gets a thousand shares before anyone stops to ask, "Wait, is this real?" That’s why fact-checkers—and are so important. Especially during important elections and other major events.
So today, in honor of International Fact-Checking Day, take a moment to verify before you share. Whether it’s a news story, a political rant, or just a quote that sounds too perfect to be true… make sure the truth has its shoes on before you let the lie get too far ahead. That’s it for today’s episode of The Daily Quote. Stay sharp, stay skeptical, and most importantly—stay factually correct.
I'm Andrew McGivern, signing off for today, but I'll be back tomorrow, same pod time, same pod station with another Daily Quote.