Source bias is the tendency to select information sources to support a confirmation bias or negativity bias on a particular set of beliefs or values.[1] Source bias plays an important role in generating echo chambers.[2][unreliable source?][3] In news reporting, source bias effects how news organizations do news gathering in whom they choose to talk, and in news analysis, what they imply in the way they arrange facts collected.[4]
Signs of a biased source
Though it is difficult to find an unbiased source in today's age, it is not impossible. Here are some things to avoid when selecting a source: language that appears quite opinionated, claims that are not supported by an outside source, facts that are presented to guide you, the reader, to a specific conclusion, inappropriate language, an author that is not specified or credible, or sources that try to sell you something in disguise.[5]
Oftentimes, primary historical sources (sources from firsthand authors who were present for the events[6]) can be written from an extreme point of view.[7] If the source seems to be overly positive and to omit negative details (or vice versa), if it fails to mention information that you are aware of, or if the source's information is clearly incorrect, then you can assume that it is written from a biased point of view.[7]
References edit
- ^ Meer, Toni G. L. A. Van der; Hameleers, Michael; Kroon, Anne C. (November 1, 2020). "Crafting Our Own Biased Media Diets: The Effects of Confirmation, Source, and Negativity Bias on Selective Attendance to Online News". Mass Communication and Society. 23 (6): 937–967. doi:10.1080/15205436.2020.1782432.
- ^ Hu, Lin; Li, Anqi; Tan, Xu (2021). "A Rational Inattention Theory of Echo Chamber". arXiv:2104.10657 [econ.TH].
- ^ Pohl, Rüdiger F. (2012-12-06). Cognitive Illusions: A Handbook on Fallacies and Biases in Thinking, Judgement and Memory. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-1-135-84495-0.
- ^ Engle, Michael. "LibGuides: Fake News, Propaganda, and Disinformation: Learning to Critically Evaluate Media Sources: Identifying Source Bias". guides.library.cornell.edu.
- ^ Weber, Sarah. "Research Guides: Identifying Bias: What is Bias?". libguides.uwgb.edu. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
- ^ Hall, Lucas. "Research Guides: Primary Sources: A Research Guide: Primary vs. Secondary". umb.libguides.com. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
- ^ a b "How to identify bias in sources". History Skills. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
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