alternative facts
Euphemism for lies
Alternative facts is a euphemism for falsehoods or misleading claims presented as legitimate competing truths.
The phrase entered political discourse in 2017 when a White House spokesperson used it to defend demonstrably false statements about crowd sizes.
It now serves as shorthand for spin that contradicts observable reality: When the data didn't support his argument, he offered alternative facts.
False data spread unintentionally
- disinformationIntentional deceptive falsehoods
- propagandaBiased information for influence
- spinRapid rotation around axis
- falsehoodDeliberate untrue statement
fabrication · untruth · distortion · misrepresentation · fake news · post-truth · gaslighting · doublespeak
- inaugurationFormal beginning ceremony
- TrumpAmerican political surname
- press secretaryOfficial media liaison
- administrationOrganizational oversight and control
White House · partisan · polarization · media · journalism · credibility · accountability · democracy
Deliberately misleading language
- spinRapid rotation around axis
- obfuscationDeliberate concealment through confusion
- equivocationAmbiguous language avoiding commitment
- prevaricationMisleading speech avoiding directness
evasion · deflection · whitewashing · sugarcoating · weasel words · political correctness · damage control · rhetoric
misinformation
False data spread unintentionally
- disinformationIntentional deceptive falsehoods
- propagandaBiased information for influence
- spinRapid rotation around axis
falsehood · fabrication · untruth · distortion · misrepresentation · fake news · post-truth · gaslighting · doublespeak · manipulation
Kellyanne Conway
- inaugurationFormal beginning ceremony
- TrumpAmerican political surname
- press secretaryOfficial media liaison
administration · White House · partisan · polarization · media · journalism · credibility · accountability · democracy · authoritarianism
doublespeak
Deliberately misleading language
- spinRapid rotation around axis
- obfuscationDeliberate concealment through confusion
- equivocationAmbiguous language avoiding commitment
prevarication · evasion · deflection · whitewashing · sugarcoating · weasel words · political correctness · damage control · rhetoric · sophistry
- Doublespeakcollateral damage, enhanced interrogation, friendly fire, regime change, neutralize
- misinformationmisinformation, disinformation, fake news, falsehoods, hoaxes
- deceptionlie, lies, lying, fake, fraud
- denialismclimate denial, Holocaust denial, vaccine denial, denialism, anti-science
alternative factsfacts
Verifiable pieces of truth
reality · hard facts · objective truth · plain truth · evidence
alternative factsfactual accuracy
Truthfulness of claims
straight talk · journalistic integrity · intellectual honesty · transparency · plain truth
alternative, fact, alter, alternate, alteration, alternatively, alternatives, facts, factual