4 ms·

I mean, what geopolitical conduit isn't this days? And hasn't it ever been thus? Not saying this is a bad thing, or a good thing; that's just the way things are

I mean, what geopolitical conduit isn't this days? And hasn't it ever been thus? Not saying this is a bad thing, or a good thing; that's just the way things are, right?

simonh 5y ago
I don't mind a source having biases in the sense of a lean, everyone has biases. What winds me up is when they knowingly and intentionally skew their reporting not just to reflect that bias but to promote it and radicalise their viewership. Take the BBC for example, they're as close as I can get to a neutral source but even they have a somewhat left wing bias. It's pretty mild though and they do have some somewhat right wing voices. As a moderate right winger I find it absolutely fine and easy to take into account. The Economist is great, and even the Guardian is worth reading from time to time. It's good to know what people with different opinions are thinking and why. I cannot stomach Fox News though. Those people are deranged, it's practically RT for America. The Daily Mail here in the UK is almost as bad, they knowingly and regularly distort climate science data to misrepresent it for example. I'm a climate optimist, but the DM blatantly falsifies results. I still go to their web sites to check out how they are reporting things from time to time, but they're not just right leaning, they're constructing an all out ultraconservative fantasy reality. Maybe I should try the Express or Telegraph, they might reflect my political views better but I can't be bothered. I find a close echo chamber for my own opinions rather boring. The nearest thing I consume to how I think is the Economist but they always keep it interesting with thoughtful analysis of current events and even post mortems when they get things wrong. They also sometimes give air time to opposing views. Maintaining my views while constantly being pulled leftward by at least some of the media I consume to be a constructive dynamic. I don't always agree with them, but at lest I'm well informed on why. For some reason left media tends to be much more centrist these days than right media which is ultra radicalised. Back in my youth it was the other way around. Left media used to be so bonkers it was hilarious, now right media is so bonkers it's terrifying.
- cycomanic 5y ago
  >Take the BBC for example, they're as close as I can get to a neutral source but even they have a somewhat left wing bias. It's pretty mild though and they do have some somewhat right wing voices. As a moderate right winger I find it absolutely fine and easy to take into account. The Economist is great, and even the Guardian is worth reading from time to time. It's good to know what people with different opinions are thinking and why. Actually I would say the BBC is everything but neutral. My partner reads the BBC while I consume more German news and the Guardian. It is often very obvious that the BBC often ignores news that reflect negatively on the UK government, even if they are very prominent in sources from mainland Europe and e.g. the Guardian.
- wdb 5y ago
  BBC is not neutral in my opinion after reading their Brexit related articles
- fransje26 5y ago
  Funny. Every time I read a BBC article, I have the impression I'm getting a lobotomy. The bias is so strong, more often than not you can make out from the title in which direction the article is going to be twisted.
- ur-whale 5y ago
  > they're as close as I can get to a neutral source but even they have a somewhat left wing bias The BBC is very, very far from being a neutral source, and your "somewhat" there is a very big understatement.
  - design-material 5y ago
    On the contrary, the BBC has a major right-wing bias and regularly downplays - and even often outright chooses to not report - pieces that reflect poorly on the UK Government (which becomes striking when you read some European or American dailies that report much more freely on such stories).

I mean, what geopolitical conduit isn't this days? And hasn't it ever been thus? Not saying this is a bad thing, or a good thing; that's just the way things are, right?

simonh 5y ago

I don't mind a source having biases in the sense of a lean, everyone has biases. What winds me up is when they knowingly and intentionally skew their reporting not just to reflect that bias but to promote it and radicalise their viewership. Take the BBC for example, they're as close as I can get to a neutral source but even they have a somewhat left wing bias. It's pretty mild though and they do have some somewhat right wing voices. As a moderate right winger I find it absolutely fine and easy to take into account. The Economist is great, and even the Guardian is worth reading from time to time. It's good to know what people with different opinions are thinking and why. I cannot stomach Fox News though. Those people are deranged, it's practically RT for America. The Daily Mail here in the UK is almost as bad, they knowingly and regularly distort climate science data to misrepresent it for example. I'm a climate optimist, but the DM blatantly falsifies results. I still go to their web sites to check out how they are reporting things from time to time, but they're not just right leaning, they're constructing an all out ultraconservative fantasy reality. Maybe I should try the Express or Telegraph, they might reflect my political views better but I can't be bothered. I find a close echo chamber for my own opinions rather boring. The nearest thing I consume to how I think is the Economist but they always keep it interesting with thoughtful analysis of current events and even post mortems when they get things wrong. They also sometimes give air time to opposing views. Maintaining my views while constantly being pulled leftward by at least some of the media I consume to be a constructive dynamic. I don't always agree with them, but at lest I'm well informed on why. For some reason left media tends to be much more centrist these days than right media which is ultra radicalised. Back in my youth it was the other way around. Left media used to be so bonkers it was hilarious, now right media is so bonkers it's terrifying.

cycomanic 5y ago
>Take the BBC for example, they're as close as I can get to a neutral source but even they have a somewhat left wing bias. It's pretty mild though and they do have some somewhat right wing voices. As a moderate right winger I find it absolutely fine and easy to take into account. The Economist is great, and even the Guardian is worth reading from time to time. It's good to know what people with different opinions are thinking and why. Actually I would say the BBC is everything but neutral. My partner reads the BBC while I consume more German news and the Guardian. It is often very obvious that the BBC often ignores news that reflect negatively on the UK government, even if they are very prominent in sources from mainland Europe and e.g. the Guardian.
wdb 5y ago
BBC is not neutral in my opinion after reading their Brexit related articles
fransje26 5y ago
Funny. Every time I read a BBC article, I have the impression I'm getting a lobotomy. The bias is so strong, more often than not you can make out from the title in which direction the article is going to be twisted.
ur-whale 5y ago
> they're as close as I can get to a neutral source but even they have a somewhat left wing bias The BBC is very, very far from being a neutral source, and your "somewhat" there is a very big understatement.
- design-material 5y ago
  On the contrary, the BBC has a major right-wing bias and regularly downplays - and even often outright chooses to not report - pieces that reflect poorly on the UK Government (which becomes striking when you read some European or American dailies that report much more freely on such stories).