There's NO SUCH THING as an "Alternative Fact"
If you haven't yet heard the phrase "alternative facts," brace yourself for the dangerous new reality of the Trump administration.
The Trump team lied to the American public barely one day into the Trump presidency. During White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's first press conference, he told the media five lies in five minutes before exiting without taking any questions.1
When NBC's Chuck Todd confronted top Trump aide Kellyanne Conway about this, she referred to Spicer's falsehoods as "alternative facts."2
There's no such thing as an "alternative" fact. Either something is true or it's false, period.
Refusing to engage with the press and presenting lies as truth are the actions of an authoritarian regime, not a democracy.
If the voice of the Trump White House is lying on day one, the administration is heading down a dangerous path. We need to stand up right now to say this is unacceptable.
They're far from perfect, but for now the White House press correspondents are our eyes and ears in Washington. They need to ask tough questions and call out the Trump administration’s lies every single time they come up.
Send a message to Sean Spicer now and demand that he stop lying to the public.
1. “Sean Spicer Told at Least 5 Untruths in 5 Minutes,” Politico, Jan. 21, 2017: http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2017/01/trumps-press-secretary-just-told-4-whoppers-in-5-minutes-233984
2. “Kellyanne Conway: WH Spokesman Gave ‘Alternative Facts’ on Inauguration Crowd,” Meet The Press, Jan. 22, 2017: http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/wh-spokesman-gave-alternative-facts-inauguration-crowd-n710466
Original image by Flickr user Rob Pegoraro