The Tell of a Lie

Tell me lies
Tell me sweet little lies
- Fleetwood Mac

When a person lies, they usually have tells.  Here is a good resource on uncovering written lies. And here are  10 Easy Ways to Recognize Liars (both spoken and written).

One tried and true method of determining a lie, for both spoken and written lies, is when the liar becomes defensive. From the second link:
A person who is telling a lie will get defensive. They will do everything in their power to deflect your attention away from themselves and will get angry that you are questioning their innocence. People who are telling the truth tend to go the opposite way and go on the offense. 

We have watched this with President Trump vs. the #FakeNews on numerous occasions.  It's a really good tell, and it's consistent.

Recently, the Rifleman came across a written lie, and called it such - and finished with the statement, given the folks who have left, it reminds me of the phrase 'the trash took itself out'."
The author got defensive - "thanks for calling me and my family trash!"

Liars get defensive.  Truth tellers go on the offense.