Pinocchio is a character in the 1883 children's book “The Adventures of Pinocchio” by Italian author Carlo Collodi. Pinocchio is an animated puppet, who happens to be a habitual liar. His nose grows longer with each lie he tells. Throughout the story, this boy’s nose grows longer every time he tells a tale. He is such a naughty boy; his nose grows so long he can’t get it through the door to his room. In this conversation, we talk about the habit of SA politicians lying and exaggerations they make.  Why the do this, how it affects society, the effect of these lies on their credibility and political lying and consider whether dishonesty is really getting worse in the so-called 'post-truth' era. Lerato Mbele speaks to Sandile Swana about this matter.