1) Americans perceive the media as playing an important role in democracy but feel unsure about navigating today's media environment. 2) Perspective and bias shape how we view information, and complete objectivity is difficult, but bias becomes a problem when it involves unfair prejudice. 3) It's important to identify different types of biases in writing, images, statistics, and beyond to evaluate information critically. Fact-checking is one way to push past bias and misinformation.

1. NAVIGATING MEDIA BIAS
TO STAY INFORMED
PRESENTED BY APRIL HIGGINS

2. AMERICAN PERCEPTIONS OF MEDIA
A FEW STATISTICS
Out of 19,196 American adults in a self-administered survey…
• 84% say the news media plays a critical or very
important role in our democracy
• 41% say they feel confident navigating the current news
environment
• Views on the media are overall more negative than
positive
Gallup/Knight Foundation. (2018). American views: Trust, media and democracy. Retrieved from https://kf-site-
production.s3.amazonaws.com/publications/pdfs/000/000/242/original/KnightFoundation_AmericansViews_Client_Report_010917_Final_Updated.pdf

3. IT’S ALL A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE
WHAT SHAPES OURVIEWS?
Perspective n. - a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.
• The beliefs of those around you as you grew up. The beliefs of those around you now.
• The circumstances and events in your life.
• The information we consume.
Escher, M. C. (1935).
Hand with reflecting
sphere [Lithograph].
The M.C. Escher
Company: Baarn,
Netherlands.
Is it ever possible for us to be truly, completely objective?
Can we think outside of our own perspective?

4. WHEN DOES PERSPECTIVETURN TO BIAS?
DOES OBJECTIVE JOURNALISM EXIST?
Everything you have read or watched or listened to in your life has been colored with perspective.
But when does perspective turn to bias? Is bias always a bad thing?
How do we get through to the truth?
Bias n. - Inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair.

5. TYPES OF BIAS
IN WRITING:WORDING, PHRASING,TONE
• Words with positive and negative connotations.
• Stories that focus on one particular aspect of a story, but not another.
• Omission.
• Hyperbolic language. Overstatements.
• Usage of politically charged words (loaded language), such as:
• Slashed vs. reduced
• Demonization vs. criticism
• Horribly vs. ineffectively
Escher, M. C. (1948). Drawing hands [Lithograph]. The M.C.
Escher Company: Baarn, Netherlands.

6. TYPES OF BIAS
IN IMAGES: FACIAL EXPRESSION, BACKGROUND, POSITIONING, STYLE
Michael Brown

7. TYPES OF BIAS
IN IMAGES: POLITICAL CARTOONS & ARTWORK
DonaldTrump
The NewYorker Respect the
Flag by Jon
McNaughton

8. TYPES OF BIAS
IN STATISTICS
Fox News Media
Matters for
America

9. TYPES OF BIAS
IN STATISTICS
Meme on
Facebook –
Original came
from 2014
Discretionary
Spending
proposal
Politifact

10. BEYOND BIAS - MISINFORMATION
FAKE NEWS – THE MOST CONFUSING TERM
• “Satirical” or humorous news
• Weekend Update, The Daily Show, Stephen Colbert, TheWeeklyWorld News, The Onion
• Often based on factual news sources, but presented in a humorous and very slanted way, with some facets
completely made up. Not intended to mislead. Perhaps intended to persuade in some instances.
• Biased news, especially when not in favor of a particular viewpoint
• Used frequently in this manner by some conservatives, especially DonaldTrump

11. BEYOND BIAS - MISINFORMATION
FAKE NEWS – THE MOST CONFUSING TERM
• Yellow Journalism or Tabloid Journalism
• Misinformation and Hoax
• Intended to mislead in order to persuade
or elicit a particular reaction
Mott, F. L. (1962). American journalism (3rd ed.).
NewYork, NY:The Macmillan Company, p. 539.

12. BEYOND BIAS - MISINFORMATION
TYPES OF MISINFORMATION
• Fake stories or announcements
• Misleading websites
• Twitter bots, fake accounts
• “Trolls”
• Photoshopped images, voice synthesizers,
video tricks, computer graphics
Escher, M. C. (1952). Puddle [Woodcut]. The M.C. Escher
Company: Baarn, Netherlands.

13. IDENTIFYING MISINFORMATION
FACT-CHECKING
Snopes
FactCheck.org
Politifact
Washington Post Fact Checker
Be suspicious of the fact checkers!
Do they have an About page? Do they thoroughly describe their fact-checking process?
Do they credit the author(s)? Do they list references or sources?
Basil Rathbone as
Sherlock Holmes
in 1939.

14. NAVIGATING THE FLOOD
OF INFORMATION
EVALUATION TOOLS
International Federation of
Library Associations and
Institutions (IFLA)
How to Spot Fake News

15. NAVIGATING THE FLOOD OF
INFORMATION
EVALUATION TOOLS
The CRAAP Test

16. NAVIGATING THE FLOOD OF INFORMATION
TV NEWS & THE ILLUSION OF CHOICE
Hagey, K., Sharma, A., Cimilluca, D., & Gryta, T. (2016,
October 21). AT&T is in advanced talks to acquire Time
Warner. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from
https://www.wsj.com/articles/at-t-is-in-advanced-talks-to-
acquire-time-warner-1477061850

17. NAVIGATING THE FLOOD OF INFORMATION
TV NEWS & THE ILLUSION OF CHOICE
“When we cover war, we need a media that’s not brought to you by the weapons
manufacturers.When we cover climate change, we need a media that’s not brought to
you by the oil, the gas, the coal, the nuclear companies.When we cover healthcare, we
need a media that’s not brought to you by the insurance industry or big pharma.We need
independent media brought to you by the viewers and readers and listeners…We need a
media that brings out the voices of the vast majority of people.”
- Amy Goodman, Founder of Democracy Now!
UNESCO. (2017, October 4). Media can be the greatest force for peace | Amy Goodman | IPDCtalks
2017 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/f2eK9GMJsyo

18. NAVIGATING THE FLOOD OF INFORMATION
WHERE CANYOU GET INDEPENDENT NEWS MEDIA?
Salon.com
ProPublica
Mother Jones
The Nation
The American Conservative
National Review
Democracy Now!
TheYoungTurks
The Sun
Washington Spectator …and many more.
A more complete list:
https://www.ithaca.edu/rhp/independentmedia/usindymedialist/

19. THE SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECT
A meta-analysis of studies concludes that:
“Social media plays a positive role in citizens’ participation” in the political process
Difficult to measure because deeper motivations cannot be measured
Study on the “IVoted” button on Facebook in 2012:
“Facebook social message increased turnout directly by about 60,000 voters and
indirectly through social contagion by another 280,000 voters, for a total of 340,000
additional votes.”

20. THE SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECT
FILTER BUBBLES & ECHO CHAMBERS

21. THE SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECT
KNOWYOUR BUBBLE
Facebook knows your political views:
https://www.facebook.com/ads/preferences

22. THE SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECT
BURSTING THE BUBBLE
https://www.facebook.com/BuzzFeedVideo/videos/2484657501675117/
6:28 minutes long
TheoWilson – poet, actor, activist

23. THE SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECT
BURSTING THE BUBBLE
Click on and comment on posts that you wouldn’t normally read
Try to understand their point of view. Why is it that they might hold this opinion?Where
are they coming from?
You don’t have to change your mind, but be open to the possibility.
It’s exhausting to grapple with opinions different from your own, but as long as the
discussion is civil (and isn’t creating a lot of stress in your life), then don’t unfriend them!

24. THE SOCIAL
MEDIA EFFECT
BURSTING THE
BUBBLE
Diversify your media
portfolio using a media
bias chart.

25. THE BEST PATH TO THE TRUTH:
CRITICAL THINKING

26. THE BEST PATH TO THE TRUTH:
CRITICAL THINKING

27. THE BESTWAY TO THE TRUTH:YOU
Be aware of your thought processes. Watch out for the possible traps:
• Logical Fallacies
http://michelerosenthal.com/portfolio/logical-fallacies/

28. THE BESTWAY TO THE TRUTH:YOU
Be aware of your thought processes. Watch out for the possible traps:
• Cognitive Bias
• Confirmation Bias

29. THE BESTWAY TO THE TRUTH:YOU
Fight misinformation everyday.
Follow social media etiquette.
If you have time to share it, you have time to read it.
If you have time to read it, you have time to fact-check it
Or at least know your source!
Expose yourself to cognitive dissonance every day.
Be willing to change your mind.
Be willing to admit that you were wrong.
Escher, M. C. (1956). Bond of union [Lithograph]. The M.C.
Escher Company: Baarn, Netherlands.