by Tiffany Nicholson

Created on: May 26, 2007   Last Updated: August 05, 2011

Almost every one tells a lie here and there. Whether it is a bold-faced lie or a little white lie. I would think even more so on the internet

A several Universities, researchers are trying to develop software that detects lies in online communications, such as instant messages, e-mail, and chat rooms.  Considering most companies use the internet to conduct business. Including the Government. Not to mention the "social networking" sites, like Myspace. And, you know there is a lot of lying going on at Myspace there is a need from some kind of internet lie detector.  Regular lie detectors look at physiological signs for anxiety - racing pulse, sweat - which is not possible for an online system. Therefore, the online system they are developing only examines words.

Enter stage left; Jeff Handcock, an assistant professor of communication of computing and information science at Cornell University, recently got a $680,000 dollar grant to study "Digital Deception" as researchers call it. Handcock says the evidence that the language of a dishonest message is different from that of an honest one.

A study on this matter found that "deceptive" e-mails had more words, on average 28 percent more. Using a higher percentage of negative words then one of a truthful nature. To me that just sounds like common sense. Lying is usually a negative thing, of course there would be more of them when you are lying.

Also, a liar tends to stay away from first-person references (like "I") using more third-person references (such as "she" and "they") A subconscious way of distancing themselves from the lie. This also makes a lot of sense. Once people know what they are looking for in a lying e-mail, don't you think that it would not work any more? Like the regular lie detectors, it probably will not be able to be used as evidences in court, due to the chance that it can be beat.   Handcock and his colleagues noticed the people being lied to seem to have their own distinctive language patterns. Often using shorter sentences and asking more questions. Most people can tell when they are being lied to; Handcock calls it a subconscious suspicion.

I think I depends on who is lying to you. When you know the person well you are more likely to know their tells when they are lying, in person, on the phone and writing.  For someone you do not know, it is more of a gut feeling you go by. But that goes out the window when the liar knows what you are looking for.

Researchers at Cornell University are only working with the kind of lies told by students and faculty. It is unknown how effective this could be on "big" lies such as scams.   So all you scammers can breathe again; the "Digital Deception Detector" is years away from catching you.

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