Alternative facts

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For the legal term, see Alternative facts (law).
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"Alternative facts" is a phrase used by U.S. Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway during a Meet the Press interview on January 22, 2017, in which she defended White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's false statement about the attendance at Donald Trump's inauguration as President of the United States. When pressed during the interview with Chuck Todd to explain why Spicer "utter[ed] a provable falsehood", Conway stated that Spicer was giving "alternative facts." Todd responded, "Look, alternative facts are not facts. They're falsehoods."

Conway's use of the phrase "alternative facts" to describe what are demonstrably falsehoods was widely mocked on social media and sharply criticized by journalists and media organizations, including Dan Rather, Jill Abramson, and the Public Relations Society of America. The phrase was extensively described as Orwellian. By January 26, 2017, sales of the book Nineteen Eighty-Four had increased by 9,500%, which The New York Times and others attributed to Conway's use of the phrase, making it the number-one bestseller on Amazon.com.[1]

Background[edit]

On January 21, 2017, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer held his first press briefing. He accused the media of deliberately underestimating the size of the crowd for President Trump's inaugural ceremony and stated that the ceremony had drawn the "largest audience to ever witness an inauguration – period – both in person and around the globe."[2] According to all available data, Spicer's claims and allegations were false.[3][4][5] Aerial images showed that the turnout for Trump's inauguration was lower than the turnout for the 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama. Spicer claimed that 420,000 people rode the DC Metro on inauguration day 2017, compared to 317,000 in 2013. It is "unclear where his 420,000 figure... comes from" or what time periods he was comparing. Actual ridership figures between midnight and 11 AM were 193,000 in 2017, 317,000 in 2013.[6][7] Full-day ridership was 570,557 in 2017, 782,000 in 2013.[8]

Spicer at the press briefing

Spicer also gave incorrect information about the use of white ground coverings during the inauguration. He stated that they were used for the first time during the Trump inauguration and were to blame for a visual effect that made the audience look smaller. The white ground coverings, however, had been used in 2013 when Obama was sworn in for the second term.[9] Spicer did not take questions from the media at the press briefing.[2]

Trump's campaign strategist and counselor, Kellyanne Conway, defended Spicer's statements in a Meet the Press interview, telling NBC's Chuck Todd that Trump's crowd numbers could not be proved nor quantified.[10][11][12][13][14] In response to a question from Todd, Conway said, "Don't be so overly dramatic about it, Chuck. You're saying it's a falsehood, and ... our press secretary, Sean Spicer, gave alternative facts to that." Todd responded by saying "Look, alternative facts are not facts. They're falsehoods."[15][16]

During the week following Conway's comments, she discussed "alternative facts", substituting the phrases "alternative information" and "incomplete information".[17] Two days after the Todd interview she defended Trump's travel restrictions by talking about a nonexistent "Bowling Green massacre" (she later said she was referring to the arrest of two Iraqis in Bowling Green, Kentucky for sending aid to insurgents in Iraq), and by falsely claiming that President Obama in 2011 had "banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months".[18][19] Her false statements were described as having "taken 'alternative facts' to a new level".[20]

The phrase "alternative facts" was noted for its similarity to a phrase used in Trump's 1987 book, Trump: The Art of the Deal.[21][22][23] In that book, "truthful hyperbole" was described as "an innocent form of exaggeration—and... a very effective form of promotion." The book claimed that "people want to believe that something is the biggest and the greatest and the most spectacular." The ghostwriter of the book, Tony Schwartz, said he coined that phrase and claimed that Trump "loved it".[24][21]

Reaction[edit]

Spicer's press conference and Conway's follow-up comments drew quick reactions on social media. Journalist Dan Rather posted a scathing criticism of the incoming Trump administration on his Facebook page.[25][26] Rather wrote:

These are not normal times. These are extraordinary times. And extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.

When you have a spokesperson for the president of the United States wrap up a lie in the Orwellian phrase "alternative facts"...

When you have a press secretary in his first appearance before the White House reporters threaten, bully, lie, and then walk out of the briefing room without the cojones to answer a single question...[27]

he concluded,

Facts and the truth are not partisan. They are the bedrock of our democracy. And you are either with them, with us, with our Constitution, our history, and the future of our nation, or you are against it. Everyone must answer that question.[27]

The New York Times responded with a fact check of statements made during Spicer's press conference.[28] This included a side-by-side photographic comparison of the crowds from Obama's 2009 inauguration and that of Trump.

According to The Guardian, Breitbart News defended Conway's use of "alternative facts" by arguing that it is "a harmless, and accurate, term in a legal setting, where each side of a dispute will lay out its own version of the facts for the court to decide," but noted themselves that "[a] search of several online legal dictionaries, however, did not yield any results for the term."[29]

Journalist and former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson characterized Conway's comments about alternative facts as "Orwellian newspeak", and said "'Alternative facts' are just lies".[30] NBC News quoted two experts on the psychology of lying who said that the Trump administration was engaging in gaslighting,[31] and reported that the website alternativefacts.com had been purchased and redirected to an article on the subject.[32][33]

The Merriam-Webster dictionary website reported that lookups for the word "fact" spiked after Conway used the phrase "alternative facts".[34] They also got involved by tweeting about it: "A fact is a piece of information presented as having objective reality." The tweet included a link to their article[34] about Conway's use of the term.[35][36][37]

Following Conway's Meet the Press interview and the viral response on social media in which "alternative facts" was compared to newspeak, a term from George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, sales of the book increased by more than 9,500 percent, rising to the number one best-selling book on Amazon.com. Media outlets ascribed the renewed interest in the novel to Conway's remarks.[1][38] Penguin, the book's publisher, ordered a 75,000 unit reprint to meet demand.[38][39][40][41][42]

On January 24, 2017, the Public Relations Society of America, a public relations trade group, put out a statement that said "Encouraging and perpetuating the use of alternative facts by a high-profile spokesperson reflects poorly on all communications professionals."[43][44]

Robert Stoker from George Washington University cautioned that the term "alternative facts" can and should be distinguished from falsehoods.[45]

The conservative daily magazine American Thinker explained the "tidal wave of derision hoisted upon President Trump's senior adviser" had been rather shocking to observe because the derision had been "so spectacularly off base". The magazine asserted that the phrase "alternative facts" was in common use in law and that it was known to most lawyers, including Conway, with her George Washington University Law School degree. After giving examples of non-legal uses of the phrase "alternative facts", the article contended that when Chuck Todd upbraided Kellyanne Conway with the claim that "alternative facts are not facts; they're falsehoods", he was not only wrong, but "propagating an ignorance born out of lazy and shallow thinking".[46]

Correction by Spicer[edit]

On January 23, Spicer corrected his statements concerning the WMATA ridership levels, stating that he had been relying on statistics "given to him". He stood by his widely disputed claim that the inauguration was the most-viewed, stating he also included online viewership in addition to in-person and television in his figures.[47][48]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b
  2. ^ a b Cillizza, Chris (January 21, 2017). "Sean Spicer held a press conference. He didn't take questions. Or tell the whole truth.". Washington Post. Retrieved January 22, 2017. 
  3. ^ Stelter, Brian (January 21, 2017). "White House press secretary attacks media for accurately reporting inauguration crowds". CNN. Retrieved January 21, 2017. 
  4. ^ Wallace, Tim; Yourish, Karen; Griggs, Troy. "Trump's Inauguration vs. Obama's: Comparing the Crowds". The New York Times. 
  5. ^ Mijnssen, Ivo (2017-01-23). "Die Parallelwelt des Trump-Teams: "Alternative Fakten sind Lügen"". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2017-01-25. 
  6. ^ "Alt-fact: Trump's White House threatens war on media over 'unfair attacks'". Haaretz, Reuters. 2017-01-22. Retrieved 2017-01-23. 
  7. ^ Fandos, Nicholas (2017-01-22). "Fact-checking the White House 'alternative facts'". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2017-01-23. 
  8. ^ Qiu, Linda (January 21, 2017). "Donald Trump had biggest inaugural crowd ever? Metrics don't show it". Politifact. Retrieved 2 February 2017. 
  9. ^ "President Trump's Spokesman Just Lied About The Size Of The Inauguration Crowd". BuzzFeed. January 22, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2017. 
  10. ^ Bradner, Eric (January 22, 2017). "Conway: Trump White House offered 'alternative facts' on crowd size". CNN. 
  11. ^ Graham, David (January 22, 2017). "'Alternative Facts': The Needless Lies of the Trump Administration". The Atlantic. Retrieved January 22, 2017. 
  12. ^ Swaine, Jon (January 22, 2017). "Trump presidency begins with defense of false 'alternative facts'". The Guardian. Retrieved January 22, 2017. 
  13. ^ Jaffe, Alexandra (January 22, 2017). "Kellyanne Conway: WH Spokesman Gave 'Alternative Facts' on Inauguration Crowd". NBC News. Retrieved January 22, 2017. 
  14. ^ Bennett, Brian (January 22, 2017). "Trump aides defend inflated inauguration figures as 'alternative facts'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 22, 2017. 
  15. ^ Blake, Aaron (January 22, 2017). "Kellyanne Conway says Donald Trump's team has 'alternative facts.' Which pretty much says it all.". Washington Post. Retrieved January 22, 2017. 
  16. ^ "Conway: Trump spokesman gave 'alternative facts'". New York Post. January 22, 2017. 
  17. ^ Wolff, Michael (January 26, 2017). "A Conversation With Kellyanne Conway: "I'm the Face of Trump's Movement"". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 27, 2017. 
  18. ^ Hoefer, Hayley (February 3, 2017). "Kellyanne Conway's 'Alternative Facts'". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 3 February 2017. 
  19. ^ Hjelmgaard, Kim (February 3, 2017). "Kellyanne Conway on Bowling Green 'massacre': I meant 'terrorists'". USA Today. Retrieved 3 February 2017. 
  20. ^ Schmidt, Samantha (February 3, 2017). "Kellyanne Conway cites 'Bowling Green massacre' that never happened to defend travel ban". Washington Post. Retrieved February 3, 2017. 
  21. ^ a b Page, Clarence (January 24, 2017). "Column: 'Alternative facts' play to Americans' fantasies". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 25, 2017. 
  22. ^ Micek, John L. (January 22, 2017). "Memo to Kellyanne Conway, there is no such thing as 'alternative facts': John L. Micek". Penn Live. Retrieved January 25, 2017. 
  23. ^ Werner, Erica. "GOP Congress grapples with Trump's 'alternative facts'". The Detroit Press. Associated Press. 
  24. ^ Mayer, Jane (July 25, 2016). "Donald Trump's Ghostwriter Tells All". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 25, 2017. 
  25. ^ "Dan Rather takes to Facebook to blast President Trump's 'alternative facts'". Tampa Bay Times. January 22, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2017. 
  26. ^ Calfas, Jennifer (January 22, 2017). "Dan Rather on Trump: 'These are not normal times'". The Hill. Retrieved January 22, 2017. 
  27. ^ a b Rather, Dan (January 22, 2017). "Dan Rather Facebook post". Facebook. Retrieved January 22, 2017. 
  28. ^ Fandos, Nicholas (January 22, 2017). "White House Pushes Alternative Facts. Here Are the Real Ones". The New York Times. Retrieved January 22, 2017. 
  29. ^ Gabbatt, Adam (January 23, 2017). "Even rightwing sites call out Trump administration over 'alternative facts'". The Guardian. 
  30. ^ Abramson, Jill (January 23, 2017). "Sorry, Kellyanne Conway. 'Alternative facts' are just lies". The Guardian. Retrieved January 23, 2017. 
  31. ^ Fox, Maggie (January 25, 2017). "Some Experts Say Trump Team's Falsehoods Are Classic 'Gaslighting'". NBC News. Retrieved 2017-02-07. 
  32. ^ Melvin, Don; Calabrese, Erin (January 27, 2017). "Alternativefacts.com Links to Magazine Story About Gaslighting". NBC News. Retrieved 2017-02-07. 
  33. ^ Sarkis, Stephanie (January 22, 2017). "Gaslighting: Know It and Identify It to Protect Yourself". Psychology Today. Retrieved 2017-02-07. 
  34. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Trend Watch (January 22, 2017): "Conway: 'Alternative Facts' Lookups for 'fact' spiked after Kellyanne Conway described false statements as 'alternative facts'" Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  35. ^ MerriamWebster (January 22, 2017). "A fact is a piece of information presented as having objective reality." (Tweet) – via Twitter. 
  36. ^ Kircher, Madison Malone (January 23, 2017). "The Dictionary Attempts to Remind Kellyanne Conway What the Definition of 'Fact' Is". New York Magazine. Retrieved January 31, 2017. 
  37. ^ Raphelson, Samantha (January 26, 2017). "The Merriam-Webster Dictionary Has Been Trolling Trump On Twitter For Months". NPR. Retrieved January 31, 2017. 
  38. ^ a b Andrews, Travis (January 25, 2017). "Sales of Orwell's '1984' spike after Kellyanne Conway's 'alternative facts'". Washington Post. Retrieved January 25, 2017. 
  39. ^ "Sales of George Orwell's 1984 surge after Kellyanne Conway's 'alternative facts'". The Guardian. January 24, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2017. 
  40. ^ Shen, Lucinda (January 25, 2017). "The Publisher of '1984' Just Ordered a Massive Reprint for the Age of 'Alternative Facts'". Fortune. Retrieved January 25, 2017. 
  41. ^ Stelter, Brian; Pallotta, Frank (January 25, 2017). "Publisher printing more copies of George Orwell's '1984' after spike in demand". CNN. Retrieved January 25, 2017. 
  42. ^ Goodman, Jessica (January 25, 2017). "1984 hits No. 1 on Amazon after Kellyanne Conway's 'alternative facts' quote". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 25, 2017. 
  43. ^ "PRSA Statement on "Alternative Facts"". The Public Relations Society of America. January 24, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2017. 
  44. ^ Conway, Madeline (January 2, 2017). "Public relations association rebukes Trump's White House on 'alternative facts'". Politico. Retrieved January 25, 2017. 
  45. ^ Yes, there are ‘alternative facts.’ That’s different from falsehoods. (analysis article from The Washington Post, January 31, 2017)
  46. ^ Allison, David (2 February 2017). "'Alternative facts': A common legal term". American Thinker. Retrieved 12 February 2017. 
  47. ^ Grynbaum, Michael M. (January 23, 2017). "Sean Spicer, Trump's Press Secretary, Reboots His Relationship With the Press". The New York Times. Retrieved January 24, 2017. 
  48. ^ Berger, Judson (January 23, 2017). "Spicer Changes Up Format at WH Briefings, Moves to Hit Reset with Press". Fox News Channel. Retrieved January 24, 2017. 

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alternative_facts&oldid=766054111"