Yep, everyone has their biases. Everyone!
Like I mentioned last week, this word is being used too much, and probably for the wrong reasons, such as demonizing someone for not agreeing with you. The word ‘bias’ is also being seen lately as something that is terrible for society, and anyone who is biased is an bad person.
But how can that be, if we are all biased?
Since ‘bias’ is defined as “supporting or opposing a particular person or thing in an unfair way, because of allowing personal opinions to influence your judgment” that means we are all guilty of it, one way or another. You know someone who says “I have the best husband/wife/mom/dad/son/daughter/sibling in the world, but then again, I’m biased”? That’s an example, even if it is rather obvious they would say that.
How about someone admitting a bias for cats? Or dogs? Someone preferring the iPhone over an Android? Another liking Starbucks over Dunkin’ Donuts? Pepsi over Coke? Breaking Bad over The Wire?
These examples may seem trivial, but they are examples in how we are all biased in some way. People have their preferences, and they will not waver.
Now, what if someone has a bias towards something that is a bit more serious, such as social issues, economics, and politics? And they want their news sources to reflect that preference?
Most people consume news based on their biases. They do, even if they say that’s not the case. That is why left-leaning Americans are more apt to follow the Washington Post, VOX Media, and The Guardian. That is why right-leaning Americans are more apt to follow the Wall Street Journal, Real Clear Politics, and National Review. It is also why both groups don’t often follow news from the other side of the aisle. Yes, there are some willing to check out what the other side is reporting and explaining they’re trying to get both sides of the story. But there are also some who do check out the other side to confirm their bias towards a news event - and therefore, confirm their bias that the other side is “stupid”, “uninformed”, and even “the enemy”.
But when that happens, who is being biased here? Is the news media itself biased? Or is it the audience? Granted, not everyone has media literacy, and not everyone is fully aware about how news organizations and Big Tech perform their tricks in getting us to read or watch the news. But even so, if someone has a strong preference for a certain angle to a news event, be it COVID19, Black Lives Matter, the impeachment trial of President Trump, and so many other issues, you can pretty much guess what news sources they will turn to, and where they’ll get their information from.
And if they turn to news sources that have a high bias rate, it is fair to say many people are seeing one side of many issues - which has helped divide the United States a great deal these last few years. In other words, how can someone say the news media is trying to divide us when they themselves are helping out?
But it is also fair to say that some people are biased for good reasons, and it makes perfect sense for them to turn to news sources that support their biases. I’ll explain this next week in Part 2 of this series.
In the meantime, is your favorite news source biased? Is it even factual? Media Bias Fact Check is a good website to check out news media sources all over the world, and see where each of them rank.
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