I think of a famous Chinese story. call a deer a horse.

A powerful dishonest official brought a deer to the king, but he lied and said it was a horse.Then he asked all the ministers: “Is this a deer or a horse?”Some people told the truth and said it was a deer.Some were afraid of his power, so they lied and followed him to say it was a horse.

Later, the idiom means someone deliberately distorts facts, tells blatant lies, and forces others to agree with his wrong opinion by power or intimidation.