I don't think it's possible for any journalist to be completely objective, because we're all in some way constrained by our own experiences of education, travel, reading, etc. Everyone is a prisoner of their own experience, and no one can completely eliminate prejudice.
—Edward · Murrow
撰文 | 理查德·保罗（Richard Paul）、琳达·埃尔德（Linda Elder）
Translation | Lin Shengqiang, Du Guoping
Proofreading | Guo Jiahong
Understanding the core concepts and principles in critical thinking, which is a competency that all people need when thinking effectively about journalism, sifts through a lot of media biases in the process. Before delving into these concepts and principles, we can further ask questions of critical thinking to uncover media bias in journalism.
Key critical thinking questions to ask when looking for news
・ᅠIs this news source trustworthy? In other words, does it present the news in an unbiased manner? Does it have a record of reporting on actual news events, rather than myths, conspiracy theories, and other baseless claims?
・ᅠDoes this news source publicly publish retractions and corrections after reporting errors?
・ᅠWhere do these journalists get their information? Do they have additional sources to corroborate their information? Do journalists or editors write stories for profit?
・ᅠIs this news source a gossip column, a political slander organization, or an informal information media? If yes, why should I waste my time being misled by this media? (Even if you think you're guarding against these news outlets, it's easy to be influenced by irrational thinking just by reaching out.) ）
・ᅠWhat is the purpose of this news channel? Is the purpose clearly stated? Is there something hidden? If so, how can I identify them?
・ᅠIs this news story written by a professional journalist? What are the qualifications of these journalists?
・ᅠAm I looking for news on social media platforms? If yes, am I aware that the news is filtered to me through unreliable media? (Bottom line: avoid getting news from any social media site, as we need to spend a lot of time evaluating these "news")
ᅠIs this news source trying to inspire people, or is it trying to maintain the status quo and cater to the audience's point of view?
・ᅠWill this news source be sensational? Why am I attracted to sensationalist news?
As critically thinking news audiences, these questions can help us focus on focusing on trustworthy news sources. Even so, we shouldn't ignore critical thinking skills when reading the news, because even if they seem "trustworthy," there are potential problems in all news sources. This will become clearer as the news reading progresses.
Reality that hinders our access to objective journalism
Over the past decade, with the explosion of the internet and the reality that comes with it, it has become more difficult (and even before this outbreak) for us to access objective news. Although we can't keep up with the pace of change, these realities are documented in reports and books. Therefore, we will briefly mention some important issues here.
Here are some of the important issues facing news audiences right now.
1. It's now easy to find (and biased) news channels and social media news-related topics or pages that align with one's worldview. As a result, no matter how distorted the groupthink of the news audience is, they can easily find news sources that match their worldview and connect with like-minded people. Through these news sources, their biases are group-verified, allowing them to incorporate (no matter how inaccurate or misleading) into their worldview based on news reports, i.e., those stories fit their existing views. These audiences rarely verify news stories and do not look for reports from other media outlets under the same events, which may be reported in a broader context, and which have more detail or emphasize different elements. As a result, such news audiences are able to cling to their biases and thus escape objective reality.
2. In fact, many people simply get their "news" from social media sites that are not bound by the standard of reasonable intelligence, which are mixed with ideas and opinions of sound and irrational reasoning, and fail to articulate to their audiences what "news" is trustworthy. In addition, many well-meaning people try to criticize or even investigate news outlets that appear biased, but they are not clear on how to do so due to a lack of critical thinking skills.
3. With the decline in newspaper circulation and the rise of missionary journalism, many news outlets are now actively expressing their positions and commenting on the news, rather than reporting the news objectively. This phenomenon can be found in the news from conservatives to postmodern liberals, whether their positions are moderate, far-right, or far-left. People are flocking to these missionary news outlets. Rally · "On May 28, 2014, Fox News was the most-watched cable news network for 149 consecutive months, surpassing MSNBC (United States Microsoft NBC) and CNN (United States CNN) combined, and ranking sixth in any time slot of any ad-supported cable network," Atkins wrote in his book Skewed. (p.9) The Fox News Channel is a missionary political news organization dedicated to advancing the Republican agenda.
Atkins illustrates the role of missionary journalism in everyday journalism with the following example:
Whenever there is a mass shooting in the United States, editorials like the New York Times editorial, MSNBC hosts Rachel · Mado and Lawrence · O'Donnell, and liberal sites like Sharon drive discussion calling for stricter gun control. In contrast, conservative media personalities like Fox News hosts Sean · Hannity and Tucker· Carlson, Rush· Limburg, and Mark · Levine are staunch defenders of the Second Amendment's right to bear arms and strongly oppose any form of gun control (p. 11).
4. Of course, the quality of all missionary journalism is not the same. Whether a news report should take a certain position depends entirely on the specific situation and the arguments presented. At the end of the day, once we understand all the aspects of reasonableness, then each of us must apply critical thinking skills to determine the best position to take on an issue. We must take into account all rational views on the issue, and the complexity of the issue should be reflected in the news reports.
5. Surprisingly, many people are still unaware of the prevalence of fake news on social media and online. It is well known that individuals and organizations, including private interest groups, businesses, and governments, can create authentic-looking websites and post misleading or outright fabricated incidents. Fake news can spread quickly through social media, and a fake story can become the "consensus" of most people in a matter of days. For example, the Pizzagate conspiracy theory that went viral during the 2016 United States presidential campaign, Hillary · Clinton's campaign manager, John · Podesta's email account was hacked. Conspiracy theorists claim the emails contain encrypted messages that contact several restaurants and senior Democratic Party officials in United States about human trafficking and child sex trafficking rings. These baseless claims have spread rapidly among ultra-conservatives and other hostile groups through social media sites, including Twitter and Facebook.
6. Many people can't tell the difference between news reports and news commentary. On the one hand, these people fail to realize that news reporting should not contain the personal judgment of journalists, but should simply report accurate, verifiable, and undistorted information or facts. News commentary, on the other hand, involves a position on an issue, so reasonable or unreasonable reasoning may occur. When journalists publish editorials, they should clearly distinguish between presenting facts and making inferences or conclusions based on facts.
7. Many people get their news from news-based comedy shows, and the purpose of these television and internet broadcasts is to entertain the masses by following current events. This includes sketches that exaggerate or otherwise adapt events (such as Saturday Night Live), as well as comedic commentary on current news (such as The Daily Show). Of course, such programs focus on comedic effects rather than the fair and equitable delivery of objective information for economic purposes. At the same time, comedy writers have been influencing the audience's perception of a political and journalistic point of view by wittily articulating it.
Fake news
While the problem of actual dissemination and deliberate disinformation is real (and now widely documented), the term "fake news" is often misused to refer to stories that individuals or groups don't like, or who want information that is not true to be reported in the news. Fake news generally refers to the deliberate dissemination and fabrication of false information through digital media.
The term "fake news" dates back to ancient times, as Buckley (2018) points out: "Fake news is really just the latest name for the ancient art of lies." This term is widely used in the digital information explosion of the 21st century. The term "fake news" is inappropriately and widely used by political groups and the news media in order to escape real information. By attributing one's thoughts or feelings to others or other groups through psychological defense mechanisms projected by individuals or groups, one's own unacceptable thoughts and feelings can be avoided. In other words, it's a tactic: accuse your opponent of doing what he accuses you. For example, some radical, reactionary political news commentators and groups constantly accuse honest media outlets of spreading fake news when they themselves are the ones who initiate and spread it. This allows dishonest journalists and news outlets to cover up their fraud while taking an offensive stance. Through this tactic, they are able to deceive their audience and recruit more thought-conscious thinkers into their political camp.
Social media is not a reliable source of news
Although we've already pointed out that social media isn't a good way to get news, the Pew Research Center reports that 62% of United States adults get their news through social media sites.
Through social media sites, news audiences are misled in one or more of the following ways.
・ᅠ Publish false or misleading news for a fee. For example, in October 2019, Facebook CEO Mark · Zuckerberg admitted in testimony before a congressional committee in United States that politicians are allowed to lie through paid advertising. (The New York Times, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg 'beaten' after being accused of lying, 'beaten' by Washington, October 23, 2019)
・ᅠFalse or misleading news shared by malicious and judgmental political parties.
・ᅠ The sharing of real news that accompanies the sharer's comments, the audience only reads the comments (no matter how inaccurate or misleading it is) and not the event itself, and therefore has a wrong idea about the content of the news report.
・ᅠ Share real news but only read headlines or summaries, so you don't understand the background of the story or the nuances of the details, or there will be reports from different angles.
・ᅠ Sharing news commentary, which is mistaken by many people for an objective news report.
ᅠ Mistakenly believe that news discovered through social media is as valid and reliable as news generated by reputable, non-partisan media.
While spreading false or misleading ideas can occur outside of social media, the nature of social media (designed to keep users rolling and shallowly engaged through repetitive, addictive dopamine stimuli) increases the likelihood that people will get misleading information.
About the Author
理查德·保罗（Richard Paul，1937-2015）
Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara, Professor Emeritus, Department of Philosophy, Sonoma State University. Promoter of critical education in United States, internationally recognized authority on critical thinking, founder of the United States Critical Thinking Foundation, Critical Thinking Center, and chairman of the United States National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking. Paul devoted his life to developing the theoretical foundations of critical thinking, changing the perception of critical thinking at both the academic and general levels.
琳达·埃尔德（Linda Elder，1962-）
Educational psychologist in United States, currently President of the United States Critical Thinking Foundation and Executive Director of the Center for Critical Thinking. He has taught psychology and critical thinking at various universities in the United States. She mainly focuses on the relationship between cognition and emotion, the reasons that hinder the development of critical thinking, etc., and proposes and improves the original theory of the development stage of critical thinking.
About the translator
Lin Shengqiang: Executive Director of the Chinese Logic Society, Chairman of the Critical Thinking Committee of the Chinese Logic Society, and Professor of the School of Philosophy of Sichuan Normal University
Du Guoping: President of the Chinese Logic Society, researcher of the Institute of Philosophy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and director of the Laboratory of Intelligence and Logic
Introduction to Proofreading
Guo Jiahong: Secretary-General of the Chinese Logic Society, Vice President and Secretary-General of the Beijing Logic Society, Professor and Vice Dean of the School of Philosophy of Beijing Normal University
This article is excerpted with permission from Critical Thinking (4th edition; CITIC Publishing Group, 2024.5) Chapter 14 "How to Identify Media Bias and Propaganda", with deletions.
Special Reminder
1. Enter the "Boutique Column" at the bottom menu of the "Huipu" WeChat official account to view a series of popular science articles on different themes.
2. "Back to Park" provides the function of searching for articles by month. Follow the official account and reply to the four-digit year + month, such as "1903", to get the article index in March 2019, and so on.