I saw a video about populism that used this quote in relation to how news organizations can present the same event using different language in order to reinforce the opinions of their target audience. What Michel de Montaigne is essentially saying here is that falsehoods come in several forms, varying in the degree of separation from the absolute truth. The “opposite of truth” may be anything from a fact simplified in terms understandable for a mainstream audience to an outright fabrication meant to push a certain agenda — and everything in between. Of course, it can be debated whether objective truth really exists, or at the very least if it can be processed by human beings. Nevertheless, the Monsieur de Montaigne is right in saying that most everything we hear from others is detached from what is entirely true.
