MEDIA BIAS FALLACIES MISINFORMATION OR DONT GET ALL

MEDIA BIAS, FALLACIES & MISINFORMATION OR, “DON’T GET ALL YOUR NEWS FROM READING HEADLINES ON FACEBOOK”

BIAS • bias n. 1(often followed by towards, against) a predisposition or prejudice. 2 a systematic distortion • Prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, an inclination to hold a partial perspective, often accompanied by a refusal to consider any alternative points of view • Synonyms: prejudice, partiality, favoritism, unfairness, one-sidedness

WE DO THIS NATURALLY… • We are not robots, and we are all biased in one way or another. • We look for patterns to help make sense of our world, and sometimes this leads to us jumping to irrational conclusions to try and fit something into our worldview.

MEDIA BIAS • Media bias is the term used to describe a real or perceived bias of journalists and/or news producers within the mass media, in the selection of which events will be reported and how they are covered

MEDIA AND THE STUDY OF WORLD ISSUES • Globalization of media has created a border-less world in terms of sharing information in real time • Internet – contributes to the spread of democracy, wealth creation, technological advancements, etc.

TYPES OF MEDIA BIAS • Gate-keeping Bias: declining to report on stories or even keeping stories covered up • Coverage Bias: reporting on only one perspective of a story. • Mainstream Bias: reporting on the most popular stories, while ignoring unique stories. • Sensationalism Bias: reporting on events that are unusual or rare, as if they are more common. Often associated with entertainment value: “infotainment”

TYPES OF MEDIA BIAS • Ethnic or racial • Corporate • Class • Political • Religious • Sensationalism • Based on sex, age, education, among others • Accidental

CORPORATE AND ADVERTISING BIAS • Six corporate conglomerates (Disney, CBS Corporation, News Corporation, Viacom, Time Warner, and Comcast) own the majority of mass media outlets in the USA. • Such a uniformity of ownership means that stories which are critical of these corporations may often be underplayed in the media. • In the USA most media are operated for profit, and are usually funded by advertising. Stories critical of advertisers or their interests may be underplayed, while stories favorable to advertisers may be given more coverage.

WHO OWNS THE MEDIA IN CANADA? • Media in Canada are primarily owned by a small number of companies, including Bell, Shaw, Rogers, Newcap, Quebecor and the governmentowned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. • Each of these companies holds a diverse mix of television, cable television, radio, newspaper, magazine and/or internet operations.

IS THERE A “LIBERAL MEDIA BIAS”? • Many critics of the media say liberal bias exists within a wide variety of media channels, especially within the mainstream media, including network news shows of CBS, ABC, and NBC, cable channels CNN, MSNBC, as well as major newspapers, news-wires, and radio outlets, especially CBS News, Newsweek, and The New York Times • There have been many studies conducted and books written. Many conclude there is a slightly left lean to many of the mainstream media companies. Many differ and say that most journalists skew centrist.

HOW TO DETECT BIAS IN THE NEWS • At one time or other we all complain about "bias in the news. " The fact is, despite the journalistic ideal of "objectivity, “ every news story is influenced by the attitudes and background of the people involved in its creation. • You can become more aware of bias by watching for the following journalistic techniques that allow it to "creep in" to the news:

BE AWARE OF THE LANGUAGE USED TO DESCRIBE PEOPLE • Does the newspaper article describe a protest march as a “well-organized, peaceful group of marchers arriving at the government offices”, or as an “unruly mob descending upon the building”? Are the rebels “freedom fighters” or are they called “terrorists”? • Also be aware of the pictures chosen to represent that person or group

BIAS BY HEADLINE

• Many people read only the headlines of a news item. Most people scan nearly all the headlines in a newspaper or Website. They can summarize as well as present carefully hidden bias and prejudices. They can convey excitement where little exists. They can express approval or condemnation.

BIAS BY PHOTOS

• Some pictures flatter a person, while others make the person look unpleasant. A paper can choose photos to influence opinion about, for example, a candidate for election. On television, in a magazine or on the Web the choice of which visual images to display is extremely important. • The captions newspapers run below photos are also potential sources of bias.

BIAS THROUGH NAMES/TITLES

• News media often use labels and titles to describe people, places and events. A person can be called an "ex-con" or be referred to as someone who "served time twenty years ago for a minor offense. " Whether a person is described as a "terrorist" or a "freedom fighter" is a clear indication of editorial bias.

BIAS THROUGH STATISTICS “More than 900 people showed up at the event” “Less than a thousand people showed up at the event”

• To make a disaster seem more spectacular (and therefore more newsworthy), numbers can be inflated. Compare “More than 900 people attended the event” with “Fewer than 1, 000 people showed up at the event. ”

BIAS BY SOURCE CONTROL There are 98 daily newspapers circulated in Canada 92% of the English Canadian Dailies in circulation today are owned by 4 corporations: Hollinger/Southam Torstar Quebecor/Sun Media Thompson Corp. 48. 2% 16. 0% 15. 4% 12. 4%

• To detect bias, always consider where the news item "comes from. " Is the information supplied by a reporter, an eyewitness, police or fire officials, executives, or elected or appointed government officials? Each may have a particular bias that is introduced into the story. Companies and public relations directors supply news outlets with “fluff pieces” through news releases, photos or videos. Often news outlets depend on pseudo -events (demonstrations, sit-ins, ribbon cuttings, speeches and ceremonies) that take place mainly to gain news coverage.

BIAS BY WORD CHOICE

• The use of words with a positive or negative connotation can strongly influence the reader or viewer: consider how a hockey game might be seen differently if it’s described as a “loss, ” a “close game” or a “near-win. ”

BIAS BY PLACEMENT

• Readers of papers judge first page stories to be more significant than those buried in the back, while news websites place the most important stories on their home page. Television and radio newscasts run the most important stories first and leave the less significant for later. • Where a story is placed, therefore, influences what a reader or viewer thinks about its importance. • How the story is organized is also significant. Most news stories are written in what is called “inverted pyramid” style, beginning with what is considered the most newsworthy facts, followed by the important details relating to those facts, and finally background information to provide context. The last part of the story contains information that readers are least likely to read and editors are most likely to cut.

• This can be a form of bias because context often helps you fully understand a topic: for example, if an article about the number of sufferers of mental illness in prison (the newsworthy facts) waits until the fourth paragraph to note that sufferers of mental illness are no more likely to be violent than anyone else (context), readers who only read part of the story may come away with a very inaccurate view of mental illness and violence.

BIAS THROUGH SELECTION AND OMISSION

• A journalist can express a bias by choosing to use or not to use a specific news item. Within a given story, some details can be ignored, and others included, to give readers or viewers a different opinion about the events reported. For example, if, during a speech, a few people boo, the reaction can be described as "remarks greeted by jeers" or they can be ignored as "a handful of dissidents. " • Bias through omission is difficult to detect. Only by comparing news reports from a wide variety of outlets can this form of bias be

Consider the following headlines from various newspapers, all relating to similar news about the war in Iraq: • ‘War Imminent as Hussein Rejects Ultimatum’ (New York Times, March 19, 2003) • ‘Butcher Tells U. S. – Come and Get Me’ (New York Post, March 19, 2003) • ‘Saddam Scorns U. S. Ultimatum (New York Daily News, March 19, 2003) • ‘Baghdad Rejects Bush’s Warning’ (Arabic. News. com, March 19, 2003) 1) Rank the headlines from most biased to least biased. 2) Circle the words in each headline that you feel most strongly reflect a prejudiced point of view. 3) Does each headline reflect a clear position on the war in Iraq? Why or why not?

• Is there a consensus on which headlines reflect the strongest bias? • Is it always possible to identify the newspaper’s position from the words it’s chosen for the headlines? Why or why not? • Bias: an inclination of temperament or outlook; especially: a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment. (Merriam-Webster) • Why would it be important for news media to remain unbiased when reporting on a war?

WAYS TO SPOT A BS NEWS STORY DON’T BE THAT PERSON WHO SHARES A NEWS STORY ONLINE BEFORE CHECKING TO SEE IF IT’S LEGIT OR NOT

HOW BIG IS THE PROTEST/GROUP? • If a news story mentions a protest or disagreement, dig a little deeper to find out the size of the protest. Is this a legitimate phenomenon and people are up in arms about something en masse, or is it just a few loud dissenters? – Several news outlets recently reported “furor” over a woman’s choice to breastfeed during her college graduation ceremony. That furor turned out to be a handful of mildly annoyed comments. Yet the headline makes it sounds like an angry mob.

“MANY EXPERTS AGREE” • This type of language implies a definite fact without stating it outright • These are called weasel words

HOW DID SOME GUY’S RANDOM BLOG KNOW ABOUT THE CURE FOR CANCER BEFORE CNN? • If you see some earthshattering important news headline but can’t find the story on any other recognized, credible news site, chances are it’s fake • If your only source is some small unknown website or blog, it’s probably not a credible source And that, my friends, is from a crazy conspiracy website

READ A CRAZY VIRAL NEWS STORY? • Does the story say that this crazy thing happened in Russia or China or somewhere else where it’s hard to verify if it’s true and they may be culturally different? • Be skeptical

CHECK YOUR SOURCES: IT MIGHT BE SATIRE • News satire is a type of parody presented in a format typical of mainstream journalism • News satire has been around almost as long as journalism itself, but it has gone through a huge spike in popularity in the last decade

EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW WHAT SATIRE IS MOST COURTESY OF LITERALLYUNBELIEVABLE. ORG

PROPAGANDA

WHAT IS PROPAGANDA? • Propaganda is an organized program of publicity used to promote the acceptance or rejection of a belief, practice, person, people, or ideology. • Propaganda tries to get you to believe in an idea or to feel a certain way. • Propaganda is not always done for bad purposes. • Propaganda attempts to convince you by manipulating your emotions rather than making a logical argument.

PROPAGANDA QUIZ 1. What is the goal of propaganda? c) to get the target audience to “buy into” something without looking at it too closely. The term “propaganda” is thrown around quite liberally in the media. 2. Which of the following is NOT true of propaganda? b) “Propaganda is always false” is not true Propaganda is not always bad; it can be used to produce positive outcomes such as charitable giving, community support, or health awareness. However, grounds who cannot make a legitimate argument are much more likely to use propaganda because it shortcircuits logic by presenting only one side of the story and by appealing directly to emotions. For that reason, we should always be skeptical of arguments made through propaganda, even if we agree with them.

3. How can being able to recognize propaganda help you? e) All of the above Learning to recognize propaganda can help you do all of these things. Most kinds of advertisements are propaganda, because they use different techniques to manipulate your emotions. Making rational, well-informed decisions instead can save you a lot of money. Understanding the nature of propaganda will also let you recognize when you are being given one side of the story, which helps you tell the difference between facts and opinions.

4. Which of the following make use of propaganda on a regular basis? e) All of the above All of these rely to a greater or lesser degree on propaganda. Government bodies often use appeals to patriotism to promote unity in the face of adversity. Health organizations will use emotional appeals to get people to behave a certain way (such as graphic health warnings on cigarette packages). Hate groups rely almost exclusively on propaganda to promote their personal beliefs.

PROPAGANDA TECHNIQUES • These are some of the most common techniques used in propaganda. Propaganda pieces will frequently use more than one technique to convince their audience. Hero Narrative • This technique works by using heroic or admired figures or portraying members of a group in a heroic way (making you want to be like them or to join them) or by making you think that you will be admired or successful if you buy into what is being sold.

Misinformation • Misinformation is the heart of propaganda. In its simplest form, misinformation presents something that is not true as if it is true (giving you false information about history, for example, or making a fast-food burger look bigger than it really is). Another basic form of misinformation is when propaganda tries to hide the fact that it is propaganda, for instance, by pretending to be an educational resource.

Denialism • Denialism is a form of misinformation in which the author claims that something that is generally accepted as being true is not: the Holocaust did not happen, NASA never sent astronauts to the Moon, the Earth is flat, and so on. Denialists try to overwhelm you with so-called "facts" (particularly relating to technical matters such as physics or engineering) instead of actually building a logical argument.

Loaded Language • Some words have a lot of emotional power, and propaganda uses these to manipulate us. Often these are words connected to nationalism or religion (see those techniques below). Loaded language can also be used to describe things in a way that affects how we feel about them. For instance, rebels fighting against a government we support may be called "terrorists, " while rebels fighting against an enemy government may be called "freedom fighters. "

Pseudo-Science • This is a form of misinformation which relies on false or misinterpreted scientific facts and theories to convince you. This usually involves recruiting scientists or other authorities to make an argument look more legitimate, such as the doctors who promised "not a cough in a carload" of Lucky Strike cigarettes (and later argued there was no evidence smoking caused cancer).

Mainstreaming • This technique tries to convince you that the message being promoted through propaganda is already widely accepted. Propaganda pieces will use carefully selected (and edited) quotes from sources that are widely seen to be reliable, such as The New York Times or the Encyclopedia Britannica, to make it look as though those sources support them. (This is also the source of the frequent conflicts over editing Wikipedia pages, since Wikipedia has become the first stop for many information-seekers. )

Bandwagon • This is a variation of mainstreaming that tries to convince you that "everybody's doing it". In addition to making us believe that the message is widely accepted, this also makes us worry that we'll be left out if we don’t buy into it.

Nationalism • Words and images that are connected to a particular country can be very effective forms of propaganda. This is most common in political propaganda, but it can be seen in other forms as well (many truck ads play on patriotic imagery, for example). Using nationalism has the added benefit of making it look as though anyone who disagrees with the message is unpatriotic.

Othering • "Othering" is where another group is made to seem fundamentally different from us, even to the point of making them seem as though they are not human. Othering can make us have instinctive emotional reactions to members of that group, and can also be used to convince us that it's acceptable to do bad things to them.

Name Calling • This is an Othering technique that uses language or images that demean other people. This can involve using racial epithets, using emotionally loaded imagery (such as comparing people to animals) or just describing people who hold opposing opinions in negative terms.

Religion • Propagandists use religion in the same ways they use nationalism: to borrow authority, to integrate emotionally loaded ideas and images into their messages, and to suggest that anyone who disagrees with them is attacking the religion and not the message.

Scare Tactics • Scare tactics represent a form of propaganda that is intended to scare people into agreeing with a message without thinking to deeply about what is being said. Advertising frequently uses the threat of embarrassment (by promising cures for bad breath or underarm stains) while political propaganda wants you to think that something terrible will happen if you don't support a particular idea or cause.

Symbols and Imagery • Propaganda uses symbols and imagery in two ways: first is by using well-known symbols such as the Maple Leaf or the Stars and Stripes to appeal to nationalism or to make a message appear to be more mainstream than it is; second, to make people identify more closely with a group, an idea or a brand.