In a world full of misinformation it is very easy to think we have the truth when we do not. News reporting, presumably built on the foundation of objectivity and accuracy, is increasingly flawed. There are so many factors that come into play with how we find the truth. The “truth” also contains many shades of gray, shaped by individual biases and unique perspectives. Sorting through the underlying bias of the source you are consuming can be dizzying.
News companies like Fox News and The Federalist tend to be right-leaning and conservative, whereas news companies such as NBC News and The New York Times are more left-leaning or liberal. It is likely that these news companies publish stories that may not be entirely objective due to the underlying bias of the parent company or the biases of the individual media personnel they employ.
To have a strong, properly educated society, it is important for any bias that exists in our news to be transparent. If we know we are consuming a particular perspective, shaped by bias, the level of toxic polarization we currently see is less likely to form and endure. By understanding the difference between objective journalism and media shaped by various biases, we come closer to finding the truth. When we can work from the same set of facts we can understand each other better and solve problems more effectively.
An organization called Biasly specializes in ensuring that citizens become aware of media bias. It is important to know that it is almost inevitable for news companies to be partisan. There’s a profit motive in a free market and news sources need more views and clicks. They make more money when more people are tuning in, listening, or reading. This is not something we can control, but we can control how self-aware we are in consuming the news.
Biasly offers a range of resources allowing people to explore the extent to which media bias affects how stories are told. From a Bias Meter to Bias Meter Scale to a Media Source Bias Rating List, these tools help us all understand what we are consuming. As their platform says, “(Biasly) determines author bias and reliability issues within articles by using data science to analyze certain sentiments, policies, people, and terms found in the news.”
Furthermore, platforms like Ground News enable readers to compare coverage of the same event across different media outlets while looking at each source’s unique bias and perspective. By examining the range of different interpretations of a given event or topic, readers become more aware of the many perspectives that influence their understanding of the news. These tools can encourage a more critical approach to news consumption.
Think this article was unbiased? Think again! That’s okay….so long as you are aware of it, compare it with other perspectives, and become a free thinking educated person.