I think this is the vicious cycle created by lying, that people KNOW they are lied to but nevertheless still pretend not to know, which creates a continued cycle of further lying. There is nothing worse than being duped into pretending to believe lies and it truly lowers self-esteem and self-worth, because we accept what we know is a lie and these lies are often not what we term "innocent" white lies but can be quite serious lies that affect us deeply.