Political deception has long been an accepted part of the democratic process. Political lies and deception, so often assumed to be trivial by those who tell them, rarely are. They cannot be trivial when they affect so many people and when they are so peculiarly likely to be imitated, used to retaliate, and spread from a few to many.
When political representative or entire governments arrogate to themselves the right to lie, they take power from the public that would not have been given up voluntarily.
However, advances in technology and information sharing have made it possible to track statements made by politicians and to check the facts supporting their statements.