People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war or before an election.

The remark groups three situations in which incentives to distort the truth are especially strong: after a hunt (boasting and embellishment), during a war (strategic deception, morale-building propaganda, and fog-of-war misinformation), and before an election (campaign spin and promises tailored to win votes). Its bite comes from treating these as predictable social mechanisms rather than moral exceptions—lying is presented as a structural feature of competition, conflict, and status-seeking. Attributed to Bismarck, it aligns with a Realpolitik sensibility: politics and war are arenas where narratives are weapons, and citizens should be wary of confident stories offered when stakes are highest.