Furthermore, political actors consistently demonstrate the selective use and strategic interpretation of facts. Even when debating verifiable, descriptive data—such as unemployment figures, inflation rates, or crime statistics—the numbers themselves do not dictate a single political conclusion. A politician seeking to raise interest rates might focus solely on inflation rates, while an opponent might pivot to job creation rates to argue against it. The chosen facts are framed, highlighted, and filtered through the ideological lens of the speaker to support a pre-existing narrative or goal, effectively weaponizing factual evidence not for neutral inquiry, but for partisan victory. The facts are thus not the truth, but tools employed in the service of rhetorical persuasion.
