Hey there, coolchef
"Spin" is when you take a pig and dress it up in a fancy evening gown.
It might look better but it's still a pig.
Politicians are known to have people on their staffs that put a "spin" on negative publicity involving their candidates.
They do this by misrepresenting facts, omitting facts, using facts in a deliberately selective manner(that's called "cherry picking") or simply giving something a more appealing name.
Here's a couple simple examples:
1.I ask a garbage man what he does for a living and he tells me he is a "sanitary engineer".
2.Someone asks me if The Way is a cult and I reply that it is a "Biblical research and teaching ministry".
3.We weren't brainwashed, we "cleansed our minds with the integrity of The Word".
Any clearer now?