In the HBO miniseries, Chernobyl, the character of Valery Legasov, the scientist who led the investigation to identify the cause for the nuclear disaster, makes some powerful statements about the price of lies.

When the truth offends, we lie and lie until we can no longer remember that it is even there. But it is still there. Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later, that debt is paid.
….
We are so focused on finding the truth that we fail to consider how few actually want us to find it. But it is always there whether we see it or not, whether we choose to or not. The truth doesn’t care about needs or wants. It doesn’t care about our governments, our ideologies, our religions. It will lie in wait for all time.
….
Where I once would fear the cost of truth, I now only ask: What is the cost of lies?

In the case of Chernobyl, the Soviet Union paid the ultimate price for hiding the truth. Even so, it is easy for us to dismiss this when we are viewing the aftermath in digital technicolor from the comfort of our homes. It is all the more important in today’s world where misinformation is used as a strategy to distract us from the facts. Chernobyl is a cautionary tale about how suppressing criticism and spreading lies doesn’t alter the truth. Nor does it protect us from the consequences.

The truth is always there, whether we acknowledge it or not.