Entertainment

The Merriam-Webster dictionary is having to tell people what a fact is

The Merriam-Webster dictionary is having to tell people what a fact is
The Merriam-Webster dictionary is having to tell people what a fact is

Such are the times we live in that people are having to check what the definition of a fact is.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary tweeted out the description, indicating they were doing so because of a spike in searches for it.

“A piece of information presented as having objective reality”.

“Presented”. It’s a definition that would seemingly please the likes of Donald Trump counsellor Kellyanne Conway, who had argued that White House press secretary Sean Spicer didn’t lie about the figures at Trump’s inauguration when he said it was the largest ever – he gave “alternative facts”.

Merriam-Webster said fact spiked “dramatically” after Conway’s comments.

It’s worth noting that the Oxford Dictionary’s definition gives a little less leeway around what a fact is: “a thing that is known or proved to be true”.

“You’re saying it’s a falsehood, and Sean Spicer our press secretary is giving alternative facts to that,” she said on NBC’s Meet The Press. “Wait a minute, alternative facts? Alternative facts – four of the five facts he uttered, the one that he got right was Zeke Miller, four of the five facts he uttered are not true. Alternative facts are not facts, they’re falsehoods,” Chuck Todd replied.Unsurprisingly “alternative facts” became a trending topic on Twitter, with Conway becoming the second member of Trump’s team after Spicer himself to be trolled in just a few hours.

Some wanted to make sure they had the definition of an alternative fact down right.

Others found a passage from George Orwell’s 1984 that seemed to talk about something similar.

Examples of when alternative facts go wrong were given.

But also how to use the phrase in your everyday life.

There was a nod to the “alt-right”.

As well as a great explainer on why this is all quite ridiculous.

And if you still need more information on how dangerous alternative facts can be, this should do it.