Unsubstantiated claims are statements that appear to be fact but are not backed up with any evidence.
Where is the proof that this is a "longstanding inability?" This suggests to the reader a characteristic of the President without evidence to back it up. You will also commonly see this when someone reports on a crime without including the words alleged or allegations. If a person has not been found guilty, their crimes are still alleged.
Watch out for subjective statements on the writer's personal preference, opinions, values, tastes, and interpretations. Opinions can be found in an op ed, editorial, or opinion section of a news source. Objective statements can be given a true or false statement using evidence or observations. For example, four plus five equals ten is an objective statement (although it is untrue). However, the sentence four is better than five cannot be described as true or false, it is just opinion.
Sensationalism is a tactic to evoke an emotional response. The language used is often dramatic and can be vague. Not every news story can be "breaking news" but it is often portrayed as just that.
Words and phrases that signal sesationalism:
Not every news story can be covered by a news outlet, however, if you find a consistent pattern of omission among certain topics or stories, this is bias by omission. For instance, right leaning news outlets might leave out stories on climate change, while left leaning outlets might leave out stories on cutting taxes. Another example of bias by omission is if certain facts of a story are left out in order to sway the readers view of the event. In any rate, bias by omission can be especially hard to detect unless you are reading from a variety of sources.
It is important to take note of the adjectives a journalist is using. How they describe something can suggest that you view a story a certain way. These adjectives can be subjective and obscure the more objective facts of the story.
Examples of Suggestive Adjectives:
Be aware of photos and videos taken out of context that can manipulate you into an emotional response. Unflattering photos can create bad impressions of a person.
There can be bias found in the writer or source of funding for an article. For instance, in the case below, Bank of America is sponsoring an article about money management. Could their point of view sway the position of the article, most certainly. It is important to ask yourself who is behind the information you are consuming.
This chart was made by All Sides Media to help the average reader identify different perspectives. The ratings are based on online content only.
Source: All Sides Media Bias Chart
You have for sure come across a content farm while researching for yourself or for a class. A content farm produces articles on many different subjects and they rely on the phrase quantity over quality. Much of the information is low quality and/or contains basic information. It functions much like an encyclopedia without the editorial oversight. Content farms have one sole purpose and that is advertising revenue. They are strategic with the keywords they use in order to be placed at the top of Google searches to get the most ad clicks.
Here's how to recognize a content farm website:
List of popular content farms
Let's take a look at a jobs report from 8/7/2009.
From President Obama's press release: "Employers sharply scaled back layoffs in July, slashing a net total of 247,000 jobs, the fewest in a year. That compares with 443,000 jobs that disappeared in June."
From Republican House Speaker Boehner's statement: "In the month of July alone, 247,000 Americans lost their jobs, which means more than 2.8 million Americans have lost their jobs since the president took office.
How do the statements sound different? Now, let's read the statements again after eliminating the subjective comparisons.
From President Obama's press release: "Employers sharply scaled back layoffs in July, slashing a net total of 247,000 jobs [lost], the fewest in a year. That compares with 443,000 jobs that disappeared in June."
From Republican House Speaker Boehner's statement: "In the month of July alone, 247,000 Americans lost their jobs, which means more than 2.8 million Americans have lost their jobs since the president took office.
What do you read now? The fact is 247,000 people lost their jobs during the month of June 2008. However, that is either a positive because the prior month 443,000 people lost their jobs possibly showing progress during a recession, or it is not so good because 2.8 million people have lost their jobs since President Obama took office and that may not show enough progress.
When you read documents or listen to audio or video files that characterize opinions or positions in terms of their integrity or moral content, you may well be in the presence of bias. Think for yourself: base your opinion on the facts, not the hype.
Much of this research guide focuses on "traditional" news sources including news papers, magazines, and television. However, increasingly with younger generations, news is often consumed as entertainment. Watch the video below to find out how to keep alert to bias even when your guard is down.
Compare liberal and conservative Facebook feeds for controversial issues using the Washington Post's Blue Feed/Red Feed.
