In the book, Hausman maintained that propaganda and misleading communication have become more prevalent in society because those who engage in “a culture of deception” have developed techniques by which a small element of truth can be spun into a duplicitous statement that has a patina of veracity, enabling manipulative communicators to “say the truth, but still tell a lie.”[2] Lies categorized such deceptions into categories and demonstrated the mechanics of what Hausman dubbed, for example, “veiled variables” and “incognito ifs.”[3] Reviewing Lies in The New York Observer, Michael M. Thomas termed the book a “useful, pretty comprehensive guide to the way we lie now.
On the strength of his example and citations, it really is appalling how widely the culture of falsity has spread.”[4] Hausman also writes and comments about ways in which technology leverages the effects of media, including the use of quickly-produced books as tools of political persuasion[5] and the implications of political information and misinformation that is spread virally.
Hausman told The Chronicle of Philanthropy that he was strongly influenced by Kidder’s contention that technology exponentially magnifies ethical transgressions, citing Kidder’s claim that the Chernobyl nuclear disaster was more an ethical meltdown than a technological failure because it was caused by technicians who ignored safety procedures in order to cut corners on completing required safety tests.
[10][11] Under his pseudonym Carl Dane, he has published a growing body of Western novels and a collection of short stories.
[12] In 2019 Hausman received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in journalism and higher education.