'Weasel word'. It's a real thing and it describes most of what's coming out of Washington today to a 'T'. (Pun completely intended...)
Here's what Wikipedia has to say:
"A weasel word, or anonymous authority, is an informal term for words and phrases aimed at creating an impression that a specific or meaningful statement has been made, when instead only a vague or ambiguous claim has actually been communicated. This can enable the speaker to later deny the specific meaning if the statement is challenged. Where this is the intention, use of weasel words is a form of tergiversation.
Weasel words can be used in advertising and in political statements, where it can be advantageous to cause the audience to develop a misleading impression.
Some weasel words have the effect of softening the force of a potentially loaded or otherwise controversial statement through some form of understatement; for example, using detensifiers such as "somewhat" or "in most respects"."
Sound familiar? I don't know about you but, knowing that, I feel a little stupid for being so gullible...
Looking back over some of my older blogs and posts, I found this one from 2009. Geez, I was griping about the media circus before it got this bad! I went into the history of yellow journalism, how it got started and the man who created it, here: The Yellowed Pulitzer. Believe it or not, there is word for one of today's biggest form
