Monday, 23 January 2017

The best of #AlternativeFacts


Donald Trump is such a thin-skinned narcissist that the first days of his administration will be remembered for an astoundingly farcical display of truth-denial from the White House rather than any meaningful political initiative.

Trump was clearly furious at the press for pointing out that Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration attracted much bigger crowds that Trump's in 2017. First into the fray was Trump's press secretary Sean Spicer who furiously denounced the media with claims of some kind of vendetta to "minimise the enormous support", telling quite a few demonstrable lies in the process before storming out of the press conference without actually answering any questions from the press.

 Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway then attempted to defend Spicer's lies with the astounding claim that they weren't lies, but actually "alternative facts". 
The Twitter response to the public coining of a brand new euphemism for "lies" by a government spokesperson was brilliant, with the #AlternativeFacts hashtag trending for the rest of the day. Here are a few of the best examples:

 Several people used #AlternativeFacts as they were originally intended (to make Trump's inauguration seem very much more glorious than it actually was)


Some people pointed out the way that Trump had left his wife behind as he rushed out of the car and up the steps, and then again as he hurried through the door was not "rudeness", but "alternative chivalry"!


People were quick to point out that "alternative facts" probably won't work so well with policemen, teachers or the tax authorities.



Kris Sacrebleu pointed out the chillingly Orwellian nature of "alternative facts".

Daniel Phillips helpfully provided some synonyms to help people get their heads around what "alternative facts" actually are.

The Merriam Webster dictionary offered a helpful definition of the word "fact" for anyone suffering confusion.

And a librarian got in on the act too:


Here are a few more people demonstrating that they get the idea:




Scientists for EU picked up on the similarity between "alternative facts" and Vote Leave campaign pledges.

After just one day in the White House the Orwellian lunacy of "alternative facts" was enough to make people lose patience with the Trump administration.



Possibly the best Tweet of all was this one that shows a very good understanding of the Trumpster thought system: uncomfortable truth = "fake news" / Trump administration lie = "alternative fact".

Chillingly Dan Rather points out that the ones with the most realistic power to stop the insanity of stuff like "alternative facts" are the Republican Party (who allowed themselves to be usurped by Trump in the first place), and hopes that the press (who elevated Trump to the White House with all of the free publicity they gave him) collectively decide to pressure Republican politicians into holding him to account.

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Posted by Thomas G. Clark at 04:53
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