Halt Alt. Facts
"It is not political to defend the integrity of facts"
Naomi Oreskes
Naomi Oreskes
Sweden to Trump: What happened last night?
From BBC News Excerpts 1. During another ferocious attack on the media on Saturday evening, US President Donald Trump cited a non-existent incident in Sweden, baffling many - not least Swedes. "You look at what's happening in Germany, you look at what's happening last night in Sweden." (D. Trump) 2. So what exactly happened in Sweden on Friday? There were no reported terrorist incidents in Sweden on Friday.
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"Alternative facts" is a term coined by U.S. Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway during a Meet the Press interview on January 22, 2017. Even though "alternative facts" is an existing legal term, it is not a synonym for "lie." According to Merriam-Webster a lie is:
a : an assertion of something known or believed by the speaker or writer to be untrue with intent to deceive b : an untrue or inaccurate statement that may or may not be believed true by the speaker or writer. What Sean Spicer presented as facts during the press conference and was later defended by Ms. Conway as "alternative facts" are lies according to the above definition, i.e. an untrue statement that may or may not be believed true by Mr. Spicer and Ms. Conway. Every administration provides untrue or inaccurate statements at some point. Usually, lies are made up to cover undergoing negotiations and secret information or to hide the mistakes of the administration. "Team Trump" lies are of a different nature. Indeed, the "Team" deliberately and regularly deliver false statements and untrue facts (crowd size at inauguration, electoral frauds, historical win at the electoral college, calling substantiated information "fake news"...). Through "alternative facts," the conscious and unconscious goal of the administration is to alter, discredit, minimize, or ignore: 1. scientific evidence, 2. the judicial system, 3. substantiated news, and 4. reality. This apolitical blog is my modest contribution to record the "alternative facts" presented by "Team Trump." I, as most academics, want the White House to stop the fight against facts, quality journalism, and science. My wish is that the blog becomes obsolete as soon as possible. Note.: This blog is unrelated to SUNY Purchase and my work at SUNY Purchase. |
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From Scientific American The Delusion of Alternative Facts How science can guide the search for "actual" truth in our post-truth era ArchivesCategories |