As a student of the English language, I find that the use of certain phrases and words is becoming somewhat confusing. This is particularly true within the “bafflegab” found in political speeches, government pronouncements and social media. For example, decorum dictates that one should suggest that the person wasn’t exactly truthful or had misrepresented the truth. We never imply that the person lied, as lying is considered disreputable in societal terms, except apparently when applied to politicians.
A “fact” is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “a thing that is indisputably the case”. A “lie” is defined as “an intentionally false statement”. Usually facts are founded on science-based investigations or the results of thorough studies. Yet, now we hear about something referred to as “alternative facts”. I suppose it is O.K. to cherry pick and manipulate the facts if it can be rationalized. However, wouldn’t such actions border on encouraging “lies”.
Then there is the new phenomenon referred to as “fake news”, which appears to alter facts in order to better reflect one’s preconceived ideas or opinions. Editorialists are known to interpret events and facts to support their views and opinions on issues. Journalists on the other hand are supposed to base their reporting on the facts as they are known. How reliable the facts are is in turn based on the dependability and accuracy of their sources. Thorough fact-finding requirements do not occur in the case of “fake news”, which has increased with the growth of ‘social media’. Recent studies have shown that about half the population depends on social media for their daily news, including fake news.
We also have individuals who, after being interviewed or speaking, declare that they “misspoke” at the time. Otherwise, they did not mean to say what they said at that time. This gives the impression that they didn’t think before their mouth uttered certain statements. Politicians apparently misspeak a lot nowadays. However, they never lie! All any of us can do is obtain our information from as many ‘reliable’ sources as possible. We will then hopefully be in a better position to discern what are facts, lies, opinions or fake news. Good luck, you’ll need it.
FROLITICKS 