We are all aware that every human has biases based on their life experiences, what belief systems they adhere to (consciously or unconsciously), what sources of info they follow and with whom they are currently relating. (See our posts “How Do We Know Its True” and “Whom Do They Serve.”)
Since everyone has biases, it follows that news outlets, podcasters and bloggers consciously or unconsciously slant their presentations. The unconscious slanting is unavoidable and the conscious slanting is understandable. Does this mean we don’t believe anyone? No, that wouldn’t be possible either in our daily life or in our desire to understand the world we live in. But it is important to know the biases inherent in the information we consume so we know how to interpret it.
“If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're mis-informed.” Mark Twain
For example, everything I read in the New York Times (NYT) or the Washington Post (WP) about Donald Trump is very clearly slanted towards “orange man bad.” When I have read anything positive about Trump it has been a grudging admission that he may be right on some small point.
And everything I hear on Steve Bannon’s Warroom or read in Revolver.news presents Donald Trump as correct and perhaps our only hope. Any criticism of him is on some minor point of policy.
Is either view entirely true? No, of course not. But if we take in news without discernment, not bothering to evaluate the slant of the sources we follow, we will likely find ourselves drawn to the sources that affirm our existing beliefs and end up in an echo chamber. If you only follow sources like the NYT, WP, CNN and other “mainstream media” sources, you will have very negative view of Trump. On the other hand if you only follow Bannon’s Warroom, Revolver.news, the Citizens Free Press and other conservative alternative media, you will have a very positive view of Trump. This doesn’t just apply to Trump but applies to every other news topic, be it the war in Ukraine, the economy, the pandemic and the vaccine or the 2024 Presidential Candidates.
How do we avoid living in an echo chamber?
So how do we inform ourselves and avoid falling into an echo chamber? First, examine yourself. What is your worldview and what are your inclinations? Do you believe the Bible is true or do you believe in “time plus chance” materialism? Are you registered Republican, Democrat, Independent or in some third party? Or not registered at all? What is your view of the role of Civil Government or the Church or individuals (see our post on “The True Meaning of Government”). There are many other criteria you could apply but you get the point. This self evaluation will enable you to understand the slant to which you are naturally inclined.
After this self evaluation, examine what sources you follow. Do you know the slant of each source? If you get news from social media do you understand their methods and purpose? (Hint: their purpose is increasing engagement, not informing, so they will always promote controversy and direct you to news that caters to your apparent biases). Do you intentionally imbibe various sources, with differing worldviews? If you hear something new or shocking, do you seek out different sources to verify (or disprove) the story the way you originally heard it?
The recent indictments of Donald Trump present a good case study. Some sources approach the indictments as finally proving what everyone knew all along, that Trump is a wicked, untrustworthy man, who is finally paying the price for his crimes. Other sources approach the indictments as proof that we have two systems of justice in this county, that the deep state is cooking up anything it can to take down this righteous man who is our last hope against tyranny. As you read these two statements, you likely agree in whole or in part with one and can’t imagine why anyone would believe the other.
So the obvious solution to not falling into an echo chamber is to follow a variety of sources in general and, for the issues of greatest import to you, to take a deep dive into searching out several reports to discern the truth. A word of caution: all of the standard search engines and sources such as Google, Bing and Wikipedia long ago curated their material to a leftwing bias. Some say you can get the alternative view starting on the fifth or sixth page of a Google search but I personally only use Google to give me an idea of what outlets are reporting on the issue before I seek out stories on my own from a variety of sources.
So who do I follow? I have subscriptions to the New York Times, the Washington Post and The Economist. Each sends me daily news summaries so I get a good feel for what the Left and the Globalists are promoting. I follow their links to read their articles on stories of particular interest. And because I have paid subscriptions I can search out stories on their websites when I am doing research.
To get the Right’s viewpoint, I listen to podcasts from Warroom, Mel K, Flyover Conservatives, and others. I glance through the lists of stories on revolver.news, Citizen Freed Press, the Gateway Pundit and others, reading the articles that catch my eye.
And there are a couple of podcasts that I find examine issues from every side and allow a balance of views to be presented. The most obvious is The Joe Rogan Experience. Rogan has guests on with different points of view on a number of issues, gives each guest the opportunity to present their views, and then asks hard hitting questions to force them to respond to the arguments against them. With his podcasts running 2-3 hours, his guests have ample time to make and defend their case. Rogan is open about his beliefs (I would classify him as a classic liberal) but listens thoughtfully to all points of view. And as the most popular podcast of all time, he is able to attract the most controversial figures to his show.
I also listen to The Dershow with Alan Dershowitz, professor emeritus of constitutional law at Harvard. Dershowitz is unabashedly liberal, supporting abortion rights and always voting for Democrats for example, but is also a strict constitutionalist who stands on principle, even to his own harm. Though he despises Trump, he defended him against unconstitutional impeachment charges. I disagree with much of what Dershowitz says, but I know I am hearing a clear presentation of the issues and am forced to consider alternate viewpoints.
Examine yourself and examine your sources to understand the inherent biases
So examine yourself to understand your own biases and examine your sources of information (be they social media, friends or news outlets) to understand their biases. Seek out sources with which you disagree as well as those with which you agree. And remember, “orange man bad” and “our only hope” are both biased viewpoints. Examine the issues and determine for yourself what you believe.
Good admonition to examine ourselves and our sources. So easy to only listen to, hang out with and be in an echo chamber situation. Thanks Jeff!
Well states and very important perspective- as usual. Thank you!