‘Alternative facts’ website redirects to psychology article on gaslighting

If you were thinking about buying the web domain alternativefacts.com, someone beat you to it.

“Alternative facts” are what President Donald Trump’s counselor Kellyanne Conway called Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s inaccurate information during his first official press conference.

If you go to alternativefacts.com, you’ll be redirected to a page on the Psychology Today website highlighting the term “gaslighting.”

“Gaslighting is a tactic of behavior in which a person or entity, in order to gain more power, makes a victim question their reality,” the article begins.

“It is a common technique of abusers, dictators, narcissists, and cult leaders. It is done slowly, so the victim doesn’t realize how much they’ve been brainwashed.”

The term originated with a 1938 play titled “Gas light.” In 1944, the second film version of the thriller “Gaslight,” starring Ingrid Bergman, depicted a man who manipulates his wife until she thought she was going insane.

The 1944 film version introduced an 18-year-old Angela Lansbury to the silver screen.

Techniques used by those who gaslight include, telling “blatant lies,” denying “they ever said something, even though you have proof,” projecting and using “what is near and dear to you as ammunition.”

“They wear you down over time,” according to the article.