The television show about time traveler "Dr. Who" could have inspired present claims by Kellyanne Conway that Donald Trump and his administration use "alternative facts" instead of real facts about the inauguration crowd sizes.
Gizmodo captured the true fact that 40 years ago Sunday, "Dr. Who" aired an episode in which the Doctor advised his new companion Leela about the dangers of those who alter facts to "fit their views."
The episode titled “The Face of Evil Part 4” aired January 22, 1977, as episode 13 in Season 14. The Doctor attempts to make peace with two tribes at war, the more primitive Sevateem and the advanced Tesh. A computer that the Savateem worship as a god takes control of Leela's mind and requires the Doctor's assistance to break her trance. That's when the Doctor explains how hard people work to convince themselves and others of "five lights."
“You know, the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common,” the Doctor said. “They don’t alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit their views.”
Over the weekend, Conway told NBC’s Chuck Todd that Trump was using “alternative facts” when he was talking about the size of his inauguration crowd. The crowd was much smaller than crowds for Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan's inauguration, but press secretary Sean Spicer claimed his was the largest around the world "period" and refused to take questions or elaborate.
Watch the full clip below:
