Just because it’s repeated, doesn’t make it true

If you say something often enough with enough confidence people will start to believe it.

But what if it is even true? Doesn't matter.
But what if the facts say otherwise? Doesn't matter.
But what if, deep down, it doesn’t sit right? Doesn't matter.

I've just come to learn this phenomenon has a name. Psychologists call it the illusory truth effect.

While it’s been studied for decades, its use goes back even further. During WWII, Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels is often credited with the strategy of repeating a lie until it’s accepted as truth. That tactic has echoed across history and is sadly still in use today.

It’s the strategy of those who want power without scrutiny. Those who want silence from the masses. Those who want to shape what people believe.

And what about truth? What of it? This is not a strategy to serve the people. Instead, it's one designed to control them, through repetition. 

From propaganda to politics... and personal lives
In recent weeks, I’ve watched politicians, lobbyists and spokespeople from various countries and causes repeat carefully selected phrases. Word for word almost. Like they were reading from the same script. Their objective: to discredit one group and support another, regardless of the lack of logic, the lack of common sense or the legality of these statements.

At home, a prominent political figure has taken to social media to discredit respected academics. Not with new evidence or ideas, but with carefully crafted soundbites. Repeated across social media channels and in interviews. Same words. Same tone. Same framing. And, all with the confidence and conviction which is truly stellar; almost convincing.

And the sad reality is: it works! Not because it’s right. But because it’s familiar. And that’s enough to convince many.

If this was purely a political phenomenon which is something out of mine or others' individual control, then it would simply be a spectacle to behold and to encourage critical thinking in the spheres we can influence. But it isn’t just a political problem. It’s a personal one too.

Because repetition shapes our internal world just as much as it does the public one.

The lies we start to believe
Reflecting on this, I wondered: What are the repeated phrases we’ve accepted as truth, not about global or national events, but about ourselves?

What has been said to us (or about us) so often that we’ve started to believe it, even when it’s false? And sometimes, most painfully, those phrases don’t come from strangers or the media. They come from people we’ve trusted most.

A close friend once shared something with me (and gave me permission to pass it on, without names or details). They told me about a time in their life when they’d internalised a message that had been repeated to them over the course of a relationship. Sometimes through words. Sometimes through the absence of words. Through expectations that were never voiced or always felt. Through tone, silence or whispered phone conversations not meant to be heard.

Over time, the same quiet message formed: You’ve failed. You’re not enough. You can’t provide what’s needed. You’re not who I expected you to be.

It didn’t matter that it wasn’t the full story or even an accurate one. The reality is, it had been said. It had been felt and it had been replayed, over and over and over again.

And eventually, my friend started to believe it. The message calcified, became a lens and became the story they told themselves.

But, and this is the part that really matters, it didn’t stay that way. Because repetition can be undone. With support. With time. With truth.

Rewriting the internal script
The thing about truth is that it can be terribly confronting. The beauty about truth is that, once faced full-on, it provides a limitless opportunity for growth. And, along with support and self-leadership to challenge those old beliefs, through optimism and with courage, we can rewind those old tapes.

The simple but powerful question we need to ask ourselves is: What if this repeated phrase I’ve believed… is not true?

That small but powerful question opened the door to reframing. To reclaiming. To rewriting the script my friend had unknowingly performed for far too long.

And that’s where this connects to leadership.

Why this matters for leaders all of us
Leadership is not just about leading others. It’s about noticing what leads us, especially the invisible beliefs we’ve accepted as truth.

If we allow old narratives, repeated untruths or inherited judgments to define us we lead from fear, from defence, from distortion.  

This week, I want to ask you:

• What phrases are you still believing simply because you’ve heard them enough times?

• What assumptions about yourself or others are shaped more by repetition than by reflection?

• And most importantly, what needs to be unlearned so you can lead with clarity again?

Because leadership, real leadership, requires us to challenge false narratives. Not just the ones we hear in the media or from politicians. But in ourselves.

Final thought: What are you repeating?
We’re always repeating something: a story, a judgment, a belief. The question is: Is it true? Or has it just been repeated enough to feel true?

And if it’s not true, are you willing to stop performing it? Because just as the illusion of truth can lead us astray, the consistent practice of honesty, with ourselves, with others, can set us free.

👣 What about you?

• What’s something you’ve believed about yourself that you never chose but just simply absorbed?

• What would happen if you stopped repeating that message?

• What truth needs to be said more often so that it starts to feel like truth again?

If this struck a chord, with you or for someone else, pass it on.

Because, like any tactic that can be weaponised for evil, it can also be used for good: for imprinting actual truth in a world that is in desperate need of it.