Prior to Trump’s inauguration, fake news was widely considered to be a tactic used by some  news outlets to make money off of on-site advertising by creating eye catching headlines and articles full of fake information. With the introduction of the “Alternate Fact”, however, Trump and his staff have introduced a major conflict over what sources the public should look to to find the truth, as by their rules, major media outlets are not to be trusted.

The phenomena of the Alternate Fact began when White House Secretary Sean Spicer announced the controversial “fact” of the crowd size that attended Donald Trump’s inauguration, saying that the crowd drawn was the largest to witness an inauguration, both in person, and around the globe, despite photo evidence [just against Obama’s inauguration] and reports from numerous press outlets claiming otherwise. Videos of the event show that the national mall was never full at any point.

The phrase “alternate fact” was not introduced until counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway tried to grapple with the matter herself, calling Spicer’s statements alternate facts, or in some people’s minds, flat out lies.

“I think that they’re making excuses for their own gains. It’s mostly just really people who are racist and homophobic and misogynistic and all those people who think they can make up all this stuff to justify whatever their personal bigotry is” Madeline King ‘19 said.

Conway is not the only one in Trump’s cabinet to pitt the government’s versions of facts against the media’s. Trump himself went as far as to say that any negative polls about his presidency conducted by even large news production organizations are “fake news.”

Despite Trump and his staff’s adversity to false information and fake news, Conway has claimed non-existent massacres such as “Bowling Green”, which was  said to have taken place in Kentucky by Conway, as evidence for why certain policies of Trump’s are needed.

Trump also cited a terror attack in Sweden that had supposedly happened the night before his speech was given on Feb. 19th which the former prime minister of the country was quick to revoke.

In the coming years, it is strongly urged that readers be aware of the sources they are reading news from, and take precautions to not take everything said by either side at face value.