If it sounds farfetched, it likely is

The phrase “alternative facts” has caused a huge uproar between the new Trump administration and the media, whose livelihood depends on facts.

When a Trump administration representative said the administration had presented “alternative facts,” the media’s response was that the alternative to facts was lies.

In that sense, of course, “alternative facts” are just plain unacceptable, but the lines can get blurry, just as they have become with “fake news.”

In politics lately, any news that seems to challenge one side’s assumptions is labeled “fake news,” no matter how conscientious or reputable the source.

The fake news that causes real headaches, however, is stuff that is fabricated out of thin air and dressed up to look like legitimate news.

Lately, that kind of fake news has caused real problems for Facebook and other social media, which, after all, present themselves as mere platforms to spread information of any kind, as long as it’s legal.

Facebook has recently started vetting some of the information presented as news, anyway.

The concept of “alternative facts” is much less clear in meaning than “fake news,” because in a very important sense, alternative facts can be just as factual as, well, their alternatives.

Mark Twain popularized the phrase “lies, damn lies and statistics.”

Statistics, or any kind of raw data, can be subjected to many different kinds of adjustments.

Some of those adjustments are designed to assure that results are more accurate.

Example: Adjusting for inflation. When dollar amounts are compared over a 10- to 20-year period, adjusting for inflation gives a more accurate picture of value.

Some, however, are designed to help promote a cause.

Example: An “alarming” new report says something we eat, drink or breathe is increasing our cancer risk 10 times. Quite often that means increasing our odds of getting cancer from 1-in-100 million to 1-in-10 million, in other words, from minuscule to less minuscule. Nutrition advocates and pollution opponents commonly use of this kind of manipulation.

In either case, we have sets of equally accurate alternative facts. Both have bases in reality, but their presentation can be subject to interpretation.

How to deal with it?’

To me, it’s the same as buying anything else: If it sounds too good, or too bad, to be true, it probably is.

When in doubt, check it out.

Steve Hansen writes about our life and times from his perspective of a retired Tucumcari journalist. Contact him at: [email protected]