In last week’s post, we looked at how news outlets can be biased. Other forms of media can also be biased. For example, blogs like ours and environmental groups on social media. But why should we care whether the media we are consuming is biased?
Biased media information will likely create echo chambers. Most of the consumers of biased media are those who already subscribe to or are leaning towards the views of that biased media. Echo chambers are fueled by our confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is “the tendency of people to favor information that confirms their existing beliefs or hypotheses.” and “rejecting or ignoring any conflicting data”. If climate change deniers keep reading biased articles that support their belief that climate change is not a problem, their belief will be reinforced. It would be difficult to convince them otherwise as they get trapped in an echo chamber filled with media biased towards their views. Therefore, environmental efforts will be limited when there is significant resistance from deniers.
Moreover, for people who have not formed an opinion towards an issue and they unknowingly read biased media about the issue, this will cause them to have narrow and skewed perspectives. The prevalence of biased media will also make it more difficult for people who want to learn or understand more about an issue. Therefore, biased media will hinder the effectiveness of media in spreading environmental awareness and educating people.
In addition, since media outlets shape people’s views and beliefs, they can influence who people vote for. Thereby affecting how environmental issues are dealt with (or not) and the policies implemented. Whether there will be policies for environmental protection and conservation or policies that worsen environmental problems. For example, a study found that Fox News influenced voters to vote for Republicans. A survey found that a significant proportion of Trump supporters used Fox News as their source of information during the 2016 election period. Fox News is “strongly Right-Biased” and its articles are “pro-Trump”. Therefore, it is likely that biased media contributed to Trump gaining more support and led him to win the election.
The way media presents or ignores certain issues can also influence policy-making and other government decisions. If certain issues are under-reported, people will be unaware of these issues, so there won’t be pressure on the government to implement policies or measures to counter these issues.
How do we overcome these problems? When reading about an issue, search for different sources of information to understand it from different perspectives. Use websites like Media Bias/Fact Check and Snopes to check your sources of information for biasness. By being conscious of biased media and our confirmation bias, we can prevent ourselves from falling into echo chambers.
chloequek October 26, 2020
Hi Si Ying!
Interesting blog post! Really learnt a lot.
Do you think that a way to certify reporters should be made so that only reporters that are certified to be non-bias should be allowed to write media articles? What do you think are some of the down sides of such a policy? Thanks!
Si Ying October 27, 2020 — Post Author
Hi Chloe,
Thanks for reading, I’m glad you learnt something from my post!
Hm that is interesting but I feel that it would be difficult to certify reporters/journalists as non-biased. Not sure how the process will be like to certify someone as non-biased in their writing, maybe through tests and checks? But they could fake being unbiased during the tests and after the receive the certification, there is nothing stopping them from writing biased media articles. Unless there are fines or their certs will be taken away if they write biased articles. However, this could violate the freedom of speech and the press. Moreover, if these certifications are given out by the government or an organization associated with the government, there will be the issue of government censorship. They would have the ability to take away the certification if journalists report things the govt deems as undesirable even if they are not being biased. This gives the govt too much power and control over the media and will likely worsen the issue of biased media since journalists are pressured to write articles that paint the govt in a positive light.
– Si Ying
markgys99 October 27, 2020
Hey Si Ying,
Thank you for such a nice read. I am not too sure about the field of climate change, but I have read enough sports articles and rumors to know the potential confusion that bias sources could cause. As you have mentioned, there have been troubles stemming from the biases of reporters denying climate change. However, are there any instances of being biased for climate change, and if so do you think that it is useful in solving this problem?
Thanks
Mark 🙂
Si Ying October 29, 2020 — Post Author
Hi Mark,
I think that being biased for climate change is needed sometimes when advocating for this issue and trying to convince people to take action. Sometimes, when we feel strongly towards an issue, we can’t help but to be biased when we write/talk about it. I do think that being biased for climate change by emphasising the severity of it is useful in inciting certain emotions and encouraging change/action. However, we should not go to the extent of overexaggerating or twisting evidence to make our point stronger.
I believe the main purpose of news outlets is to inform us about issues and events around the world, so it should do so as objectively as possible without using too much loaded language. Moreover, I think that in order to tackle the climate change problem, it is important to understand an issue from multiple perspectives since there are so many different stakeholders involved. I think it is also important to try to understand why deniers think that way so that we can tackle the root causes and change their mindsets. They are also part of the problem as they prevent collective and stronger action from being taken, so, we should not just ignore their views.
– Si Ying
ENV3102 October 28, 2020
Hi Si Ying,
By the way, this post is great – it occurs to me that your blog topic, more than perhaps anyone’s, will end up growing your skepticism and critical-thinking skills enormously. I can’t imagine you’ll ever consume media the same way going forward as you did before. So I think this choice of theme turned out brilliantly and fortunately, you’ve tackled it super independently and well.
I’m wondering if our class should plan a time to talk about this issue. Because in your response to Chloe above, I still see things that aren’t clear to you. And I’m not saying they should be to someone with your experience (or lack thereof). But they matter. And it’s all too complex to explain here in writing.
Do you think there’s interest by you and your peers in meeting up for this type of special session ?
jc
Si Ying October 30, 2020 — Post Author
Hi Dr Coleman,
Thank you :’)
I’m up for a special session to talk about this issue, I will ask the rest of the class if they are interested and email you to arrange a time for it!
– Si Ying
Si Ying October 30, 2020 — Post Author
^ oops this was before you mentioned about the workshop, I actually asked the rest of the class about it and a few of them are interested and we were discussing when to have it. We were thinking about having it during reading week as I thought it was going to be like a short zoom session. But since it’s a full workshop, after this sem would be better! I’m looking forward to it! 🙂
See Toh Ee Kin October 28, 2020
Hi Si Ying,
I totally agree that media bias and echo chambers can be dangerous and lead to the polarisation of society.
How do you think people can more actively avoid such a situation? Before I read up on a topic and look at various sources, I must first be aware that the situation exists – and sometimes media are biased in that they choose not to report it so I would never have heard of it.
In that case, is there value in consuming biased media?
How can we encourage more people to be aware of media bias if this issue has never cropped up in the media they consume? Thanks!
Si Ying November 3, 2020 — Post Author
Hi Ee Kin,
Sorry for the late reply, last week was pretty hectic. I agree that in order to avoid falling into echo chambers, we need to first be aware of what media bias is and our tendency to favour information that support our existing beliefs/views. I’m not sure what you meant by whether there is value in consuming biased media but yes it is true that intentionally not reporting certain things is also a form of media bias. I think in order to counter this, we can diversify our news sources, so that if one news outlet doesn’t report something, there’s a higher chance that we will still learn about the issue/topic from other news outlets. By comparing multiple news sources, we can tell which news outlet is biased when they keep avoiding reporting certain topics/issues. Hence, we can then avoid these biased news outlets. But before that, it is important to create awareness of the issue of media bias, negative impacts and ways to avoid/detect biased media.
I think it is very unlikely that there are people who have never consumed biased media, it is more so people being unaware that they are consuming biased media. This isn’t a widely known/talked about issue, so most people are unconscious of whether the media they consume are biased. I don’t think I was even aware of media bias throughout secondary school and I don’t recall it being taught in JC either. Honestly, it was only after starting this blog that I now have a better understanding of media bias, its impacts and how to avoid it (even so, there are still things that I don’t fully understand). Therefore, awareness of media bias will greatly increase if schools could teach students about it and perhaps even digital literacy in general, which is becoming more important with the rapid development of digital technologies.
– Si Ying