I’m wearing a t-shirt that says facts are facts. An organization I belong to sent it to me. I sent a selfie wearing the t-shirt to family and friends. I’m sharing it here with you. I hope you like it. Moreover, it motivated me to write this post.
“Facts are facts” is more complicated than Joe Friday’s famous “just the facts ma’am.” For example, What is a fact? What is an alternative fact? What is “fake news.” Indeed, detective Joe Friday really said “All we want to know are the facts, ma’am.”
After that comes the 2017 inauguration, and Sean Spicer claims that Trump’s inauguration was the largest there ever was. (He now regrets he said it). A day or so later, a White House spokesperson named Kellyanne Conway told Chuck Todd of NBC News that Sean Spicer, the press secretary, gave alternative facts.”
Firstly, we have to consider what is an alternative fact. Is it simply wishful thinking? Or could it be a politician’s reality when things don’t add up?
A couple of week’s ago a friend yelled out at me, FAKE NEWS, in the midst of discussion of immigration. Immigration facts were unwelcomed on the Southern border. Applying Fake News was an easy way to end the conversation. Now it was part of my circle. Has this happened to you?
What is a fact?
For example, which of the following statements are facts?
- Charles Darwin published the book, On the Origin of Species.
- The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is 408 parts per million.
- Donald Trump is the worst ever President of the United States.
Above all, a fact is something known to be true. Two of the above statements are true. I am sure that some of you wish that all three were true. Sorry.
As a science teachers, we think of facts as a repeatable observations or measurements. In short, they can be verified.
For instance, observations and measurements are dependent upon the observers and instruments used to make the measurements.
The Uncertainty Principle
There are limitations in our ability to observe.
There are limitations in our ability to observe. Werner Heisenberg worked out this idea in 1927. He proposed the Uncertainty Principle. The Uncertainty Principle meant that there was a limit to measuring very small particles in the quantum world. Moreover, Heisenberg said that there was always an uncertainty if one measures the momentum and the position of particles.
In the same vein, the classical world that we live in, there are still limitations to our ability to describe and measure. For example, if we say that the temperature outside is 35º C, the temperature can be verified. However, you could ask where was the temperature taken, in full sunlight or in the shade. What kind of instrument did you use.
In any of these cases, the statement can be considered a fact (and not an opinion). But, if you said that it’s very hot outside. That’s an opinion. Another person could say the temperature is fine with me. That’s another opinion.
| Fact | Opinion |
| It’s 35º C outside | It’s very hot. |
| verifiable objective | unverifiable subjective |
Alternative Facts
Since January 2017, the world has had to deal with a new category of facts: alternative facts. All of this started with inaugural crowd size and DC Metro ridership. It started with an angry Sean Spicer who accused the media of underestimating the size of the crowd at Trump’s inauguration event. According to Spicer, it was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration—period—both in person and around the globe.
Two facts seemed to conflict with Spicer’s claim of crowd size. Firstly, aerial images showed the turnout for Trump’s inaugural day, compared to the first inauguration of President Obama. There are clear differences between the two inaugurals. Take a look at these for comparison. These are visual observations. Of course, you could try and estimate crowd size. Certainly you can say there are more people in the Obama photo compared to the Trump photo. However, Kellyanne Conway said you simply can’t prove that Obama’s crowd was bigger than Trump’s. You can watch her say this as she talks with NBC’s Chuck Todd.
Some Examples
Alternative facts have been a hallmark of the Trump administration. Trump has lied more than 12,000 times according to Politico. Most importanly, many of these lies are good examples of “alternative facts.” For example, here are a few statements of ‘fact’ by Trump.
There were 3 million to 5 million illegal votes cast in the 2016 election. (No evidence exists that this happened).
Trump claimed that he had a tremendous victory, one of the great victories ever. (He lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million; and ranked 46th out of 58 in electoral college votes.
Whistlelblower rules were changed just before submittal of fake whistleblower report. (This was not true according to the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community).
Most importantly, alternative facts are an integral part of Trump and his administration attempt to cover up, or change facts about American democracy. You can take a look at his alternative facts, all of which are false statements on Politifact.
Fake News
Fake news is not new to the Trump administration. Other phrases have been used such junk science, junk news, pseudo-news, or hoax news. Trump uses the phrase “Fake News” to shout out when he does not agree with a journalist‘s story or report. He has used the term fake news to denigrate the press, and threaten individuals in the press corps. It’s a dangerous situation. Meanwhile, Fake news spreads like a virus on the Internet, especially on Facebook and Twitter.
The mission of news sources is to expose wrongdoing by government, business and other institutions. However, in recent years it has become dangerous to be a journalist.
Press Freedom Under Threat is a report by the International Press Freedom Mission to the United States. The report identifies five areas of concern:
- Protests and public events
- Crossing the border
- Source protection
- Free flow of information
- Deteriorating rhetoric
The report sets the tone for the unprecedented environment that has put the journalism profession in the cross hairs of politicians, especially Trump. It starts the report with this overview:
In recent years, press freedom organizations have become increasingly concerned by the challenges faced by the media in the United States (US). These challenges include: record numbers of prosecutions against whistleblowers; the restriction of public information, on the grounds of national security; the direct stigmatization of media workers by politicians; and physical attacks and arbitrary arrests of journalists by law enforcement officials
Press Freedom Under Threat, International Press Freedom Mission to the United State, May 2018. Published under Creative Commons License 3.0.
Nothing is as simple as we once thought.
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