...I would argue there is a range of mal-behaviors in bearing false witness. In your example, playing a lighthearted trick on your mother by saying you're brother is at the polic station is really the much more serious offense of bearing false witness.

If some nice, but incompetent person asks you to provide a reference for them, isn't it bearing false witness if you don't provide a full, balanced account of your opinion of them? Is THAT unethical, to provide a poor reference to somebody who trusts you to provide them a good one?

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Great Basin Ute / Ma'ake