• misterchief117@kbin.social
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    11 months ago

    @blazera

    An oath or legal affirmation can be made if what you’re saying is true and accurate to the best of your own ability and perceptions.

    If you say something under oath with the intent to deceive or omit key information or evidence for any reason really, then this could be considered perjury, which is a crime under most legal systems.

    If you truly believe you saw an alien and were completely convinced of that and testified that you saw one, yet your claim was found to be factually incorrect, you most likely would not be liable for perjury nor did you do anything illegal (in many modern legal systems). You would simply be wrong.

    This could cause you to become an “unreliable witness” which might mean anything else you say or claim is taken with less weight, even in areas you might specialize in. For example, how much would you trust a cardiac surgeon who claimed they had frequent encounters with aliens from outer space?