Who Is Lying? Who Is Telling The Truth?

Look for contradictions in the statements

Answer: Only David is telling the truth. Emily and Michael are lying.

To solve this puzzle and figure out who is telling the truth and who is lying, you need to look for contradictions that reveal who is being dishonest, then follow the logic step by step:

Let’s begin with the third statement: Michael says both Emily and David are lying.

At this point, Michael is either telling the truth or lying. Let’s assume he’s telling the truth, meaning both Emily and David are lying.

If Emily is lying, then her first statement—Emily says David is lying—must be false, which means David is actually telling the truth. However, if David is telling the truth, it contradicts what Michael said, since Michael claimed both Emily and David are lying. Therefore, Michael must be lying.

If we’ve proven that Michael is lying, then David’s statement—David says Michael is lying—must be true. In other words, David is telling the truth.

Finally, if David is telling the truth, then Emily’s statement—Emily says David is lying—must be false, meaning Emily is lying.

Thus, David is the only one telling the truth, while both Emily and Michael are lying.