Media Bias, Fallacies, and Standards of Critical Thinking
News media, social media, and search engines have become so biased and personalized that we are often stuck inside filter bubbles (Links to an external site.), where we’re only exposed to information and ideas we already agree with. We often only see information that confirms our existing beliefs (Links to an external site.). We may end up hating the “the other side,” believing they are wrong or evil.
It feels good to hear from people who think just like us, and media outlets have an incentive to be partisan — it helps them to earn ad revenue, especially if they use sensationalism and clickbait (Links to an external site.). But when we stay inside a filter bubble, we may miss important ideas and perspectives. The mission of AllSides is to free people from filter bubbles so they can better understand the world — and each other. Making media bias transparent helps us to easily identify different perspectives so we can avoid being manipulated by partisan bias and fake news. This improves our country long-term.
Media bias has contributed to Americans becoming more politically polarized (Links to an external site.). When we can’t identify, understand and appreciate diverse perspectives, we are more likely to be manipulated into thinking or voting a certain way. We may even begin to see the other side as evil. Hidden bias limits our ability to understand others, problem solve and compromise, and our republic suffers.
At AllSides, we reduce the one-sided information flow by providing balanced news (Links to an external site.) and over 800 media bias ratings (Links to an external site.). Our tools help you to better understand diverse perspectives and reduce hateful polarization in America. By making media bias transparent and consuming a balanced news diet, we can arm ourselves with a broader view — and find the truth for ourselves.
For people that are not willing to practice the Standards of Critical Thinking, these websites are often taken as truths; thus reinforcing and shaping ideologies that continue to feed cultural moral relativistic thinking.
Use the template below to complete this assignment completely.
Author’s summarized argument:
conclusion
Premise #1
Premise #2
Premise #3
Your Analysis to Refute the Author’s position using the Standards of Critical Thinking
Fallacy of relevance: (name of fallacy and provide rationale why you chose that fallacy. Identify at least 1 Standard of Critical Thinking that debunks the fallacy and explain why. Make sure to provide evidenced sources for your rationale. )
Fallacy of insufficient evidence: (name of fallacy and provide rationale why you chose that fallacy. Identify at least 1 Standard of Critical Thinking that debunks the fallacy and explain why. Make sure to provide evidenced sources for your rationale)
Sources for refutation: Make sure to provide evidenced sources for your rationale
