Sales of George Orwell's drama 1984 spiked after Kellyanne Conway, adviser to Donald Trump, used the phrase "alternative facts" during an interview with NBC News.
Comparisons were made with "newspeak" a term used in the novel, used to signal a fictional language that aims at eliminating personal thought and also "doublethink." Orwell writes, "means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, accepting both of them."
When Conway used the term, it was in reference to White House press secretary Sean Spicer's comments about last week's inauguration attracting 'the largest audience ever.'
The interview was so widely criticized that even Merriam-Webster dictionary sub-tweeted her.