Alternative facts: an inherent oxymoron and, three weeks into 2017, likely a phrase that has already been cemented as an unforgettable moment in America’s new political era. Sunday morning, on NBC’s “Meet the Press with Chuck Todd,” Kellyanne Conway was prodded about White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s false claim that President Donald Trump’s inauguration was “the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe.” Conway replied: “you’re saying it’s a falsehood…our press secretary gave alternative facts to that.”

And with that, days into Trump’s presidency, Twitter had a new phrase to have some fun with. As it so often does, Twitter firmly chiseled Conway’s clever rewording of “lies” into the history books. First, dictionary company Merriam-Webster enlightened us all by clarifying a key, and often misunderstood, definition:

A fact is a piece of information presented as having objective reality. https://t.co/gCKRZZm23c

— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) January 22, 2017

Comedian Samantha Bee is convinced Trump is not in fact America’s new president, regardless of who took the podium on Friday:

Hillary is president right now. I choose to believe this. #alternativefacts

— Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) January 22, 2017

Washington Post journalist Dave Weigel seems fired up to watch the Super Bowl in a few weeks, which will feature the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons:

Pretty excited for the Eagles to face the Ravens in the Super Bowl! #alternativefacts

— Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) January 23, 2017

Hopefully @TonkaOBrien alternative facts children’s book won’t get published anytime soon:

It all starts somewhere … #potus #spicerlies #trumplies pic.twitter.com/AmWymAVaP0

— Tim O’Brien (@TonkaOBrien) January 22, 2017

User @davidschneider used an image of Sean Spicer at the podium to give us all a little Monday motivation:

“It is not Monday. It is still the weekend. Period.”#mondaymotivation #alternativefacts pic.twitter.com/XX3vbAbvk6

— David Schneider (@davidschneider) January 23, 2017

Finally, actor George Takei, a consistent contributor to Twitter’s finest trends, laid out a few #alternativefacts of his own:

Kellyanne Conway now refers to their lies as “alternative facts.” We get it. War is peace, freedom is slavery, Trump is presidential.

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) January 22, 2017

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Twitter Does Not Believe in #AlternativeFacts appeared first on Law Street.

It’s Monday and we have a new POTUS. It was a long weekend, and a lot of us would love a sunny vacation right now. But for Mark Zuckerberg, that might be a little more complicated than he expected. Check out our piece on why he is suing hundreds of Hawaiians. Have a great, rant-y day!

Welcome to RantCrush Top 5, where we take you through today’s top five controversial stories in the world of law and policy. Who’s ranting and raving right now? Check it out below:

Kellyanne Conway: Sean Spicer Used “Alternative Facts”

On his first full day in office, President Donald Trump said during a speech at the CIA headquarters that the media has published false information and “invented” a feud between his team and the intelligence community. That narrative is debatable–Trump himself criticized the CIA and other intelligence agencies just a few weeks ago, calling them “Nazis.”

Trump also claimed that about 1.5 million people attended his inauguration, though aerial photos clearly show it was way less crowded than Obama’s inauguration in 2009. Sean Spicer went so far as to say that Trump’s inauguration had the largest audience ever, “both in person and around the globe.” That claim has also been debunked. But when NBC’s Chuck Todd asked Kellyanne Conway on Sunday why the new president and his press secretary made false statements on their first day in office, her answer was even more baffling. “Sean Spicer, our press secretary, gave alternative facts,” she said.

“Alternative facts are not facts. They are falsehoods,” Chuck Todd tells Pres. Trump’s counselor Kellyanne Conway this morning. WATCH: pic.twitter.com/Ao005dQ13r

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) January 22, 2017

Todd pointed out that “alternative facts” really means claims that are “not true.” But that didn’t stop the people of Twitter from coming up with some of their own “alternative facts.”

Me: Hi, SAT Board, I need you to change my test scores. I didn’t get the questions wrong. I provided #alternativefacts @MeetThePress

— Jenni Tilton-Flood (@jtiltonflood) January 22, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post RantCrush Top 5: January 23, 2017 appeared first on Law Street.