"Abraham Lincoln attacked the South."
"I can't do it tonight, I have to wash my hair."
"The dog broke it, Mommy." Each one a lie, but obviously lies of somewhat different degrees.
Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin takes up the human capacity to wander from the truth, and gives some pointers on staying in a truth-based world, in the book A Field Guide to Lies: Critical Thinking in the Information Age. The chat dates from the campaign season of 2016, but the book's scope is much broader than political lying.