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When I did my MBA, I was supposed to read a lot of articles on the subject and then form my opinion from them. That was too much work, so I just searched for ar
by marcus_holmes 6y ago
When I did my MBA, I was supposed to read a lot of articles on the subject and then form my opinion from them. That was too much work, so I just searched for articles that supported my existing opinion. A lot easier. I never failed to find supporting evidence for my opinion. I originally supposed that this meant I had correct opinions. I've since learned that actually this means there are supporting articles for almost any opinion on a subject.
Having sources doesn't eliminate bias.
- indigochill 6y agoCompletely agree with all of this. My point is that sources allow follow-up. Even if, in the extreme case, the sources are garbage, that's still useful information. Bias is to be expected from journalists but disinformation is not, and disinformation thrives when it's divorced from sources/context. Smarter Every Day did an episode in which a journalist explained how to look for sources when something (in her example, a climate change meme) seems potentially dubious, which highlights an example where the source is actually great and the bias is one we'd normally find positive, but the way the information is recontextualized is misleading: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUiYglgGbos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUiYglgGbos
- gwbrooks 6y agoTake it a step further: In journalism, the single largest bias on display at any publication -- from the New York Times down to some hyperlocal startup -- isn't in the content; it's in what they choose not to cover. Lack of coverage can form opinions just as strongly as coverage can.