If you follow Dictionary.com on Twitter, you know that the people behind the social media account like to post snarky words of the day to comment on what’s usually a political issue.
For example, after Vice President Mike Pence praised President Trump at a cabinet meeting, Dictionary.com posted this link to “sycophant,” even adding #VP and #Pence hashtags in case anyone still didn’t get their point.
There's a word for a person who would praise someone every 12 seconds. https://t.co/FlY8TY3fJa#VP #Pence https://t.co/4KMEkV496m
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) December 21, 2017
And when Florida gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis asked voters not to “monkey this up” by moving the state in a socialist direction, Dictionary.com linked to its definition of “dog whistle”:
When the words “monkey this up” are used to refer to electing a man of color, that would be a blatant … https://t.co/SaLDWdlUgF https://t.co/r9yNl2DF4P
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) August 29, 2018
This year’s selection? Misinformation.
The truth is, the #WordOfTheYear2018 is misinformation. Because words matter.https://t.co/g928wHdtdU
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) November 26, 2018
"Misinformation" as word of the year is as 2018 as you can get. The article attached to the announcement is a great primer. https://t.co/D3qAGoC6gm
— Emerson T. Brooking (@etbrooking) November 26, 2018
Exactly; there’s a video too if you want to click over to Dictionary.com for some more misinformation.
Never thought I'd see the dictionary putting Joseph Goebbels to shame. That's a hell of a video, did Leni Riefenstahl direct it? https://t.co/sxiitvBPl6
— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) November 26, 2018
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It’s pretty clear that Dictionary.com’s social media team is liberal and doesn’t mind showing it. (By the way, its word of the year for 2016 was “xenophobia”.) It’s also clear that Dictionary.com takes words out of context (like “monkey this up”) if necessary to make the point they want to make … which sounds like spreading misinformation to us.
And here’s why the editors chose misinformation this year:
The rampant spread of misinformation poses new challenges for navigating life in 2018. As a dictionary, we believe understanding the concept is vital to identifying misinformation in the wild, and ultimately curbing its impact.
But what does misinformation mean? Dictionary.com defines it as “false information that is spread, regardless of whether there is intent to mislead.” The recent explosion of misinformation and the growing vocabulary we use to understand it have come up again and again in the work of our lexicographers.
See, so it’s not entirely about President Trump and the Washington Post’s fact check of everything the president has said since being inaugurated.
I miss the days when there was no misinformation, back in 2009-2016. https://t.co/GQSQVdMLSC
— Jim Treacher (@jtLOL) November 26, 2018
I remember that golden era when politics was filled with truth-tellers who would never lie about Iran, keeping your doctor, executive orders…Man, good times. https://t.co/BdIAfLHDOj
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) November 26, 2018
Keeping your doctor … wasn’t that PolitiFact’s lie of the year? Why yes, it was.
If true, look up "partisan" https://t.co/9kcTRt0Gqv
— Anthony Bialy (@AnthonyBialy) November 26, 2018
Should be “virtue signaling online dictionaries”.
— Kyle Corbin (@Limbstan) November 26, 2018
Reason 417 why I'm glad I got rid of your app
— Chris Bieszad (@ChrisBieszad) November 26, 2018
The personal is political, which apparently includes my dictionary. https://t.co/pU540VuZGz
— Make Your Own Platform Dot Com (@xchixm) November 26, 2018
The #WordOfTheYear2019 should be dictionary.
Because a dictionary is not an activist newsletter.
— Rosco Roberts (@RoscoRoberts1) November 26, 2018
This one is.
— Kyle Corbin (@Limbstan) November 26, 2018
Is Dictionary.con still doing this shit.
— Sylv (@JR_sylv) November 26, 2018
You sure it’s not “woke?”
— Con Agent (@con_agent) November 26, 2018
Left wing jackasses should be in no way shape or form involved in defining our language.
— Suffering No Fools – Deluxe Edition (@cylinderspin) November 26, 2018
And yet …
Define biological sex
— Huge Merk (@TheHugeMerk) November 26, 2018
No, that would get them booted off of Twitter. Come on, even Nature declared that assigning gender by the genitals one is born with “has no foundation in science.”
Since words matter, let's use your definition of "gender". Thanks for clearing that up for us. ?? pic.twitter.com/rbpIGJdX2N
— MAGA MAN | ⏳ (@FMBRedemption) November 26, 2018
Does the word "man" matter? What about the word "woman"? What about the word "sex" or "gender"? Do these words matter? Because society at large seems to have tossed them aside. What say you, @Dictionarycom?
— Matthew Bockholt (@MatthewBockholt) November 26, 2018
Misinformation: Any definition put forth by https://t.co/2ESwwY6w88.
— Jeff Tabor (@JeffTabor7) November 26, 2018
Was "misinformation" a word you were assigned at birth? https://t.co/N4zOBiI58l
— AgainstTrumpDude (@TheAmishDude) November 26, 2018
That they do. That's why people who illegally immigrate into the country are called "illegal immigrants," and not "undocumented workers."
— Hempage (@Hempage) November 26, 2018
"This is a black man." pic.twitter.com/V2blWIagip
— George Alexopoulos (@GPrime85) November 26, 2018
Good lord you’re a dictionary. Stay out of politics. Morons.
— shrnova (@shrnova1) November 26, 2018
Related:
Definition of REKT–> Ben Shapiro DROPS woke https://t.co/qudS8erolX over tweet defining ‘acting’ and it’s GLORIOUS https://t.co/gg7RHgtme5
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) October 11, 2018
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