199
submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by Rooki@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

Hello World, As many of you have probably noticed, there is a growing problem on the internet when it comes to undisclosed bias in both amateur and professional reporting. While not every outlet can be like the C-SPAN, or Reuters, we also believe that it's impossible to remove the human element from the news, especially when it concerns, well, humans.

To this end, we've created a media bias bot, which we hope will keep everyone informed about WHO, not just the WHAT of posted articles. This bot uses Media Bias/Fact Check to add a simple reply to show bias. We feel this is especially important with the US Election coming up. The bot will also provide links to Ground.News, as well, which we feel is a great source to determine the WHOLE coverage of a given article and/or topic.

As always feedback is welcome, as this is a active project which we really hope will benefit the community.

Thanks!

FHF / LemmyWorld Admin team đź’–

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] TrippyFocus@lemmy.ml 94 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I think having this post isn't a great idea because you are just assuming the websites bias are legit. At the very least there needs to be a lot of warnings in the bots post about the websites biases and the methodology they use so the reader can come to their own conclusion.

Just looking over the methodlogy it's clear that it has it's own biases:

American Bias

The website itself says it’s distinctions of left and right are US based which is very skewed from the rest of the world. There should be a disclaimer or it shouldn't be used in any world news communities.

Centrist Bias

The website follows the idea of “enlightened centrism” since if it determines a website has a left/right lean (again arbitrary) it affects the factual ratings of the sources.

Examples of this are: FAIR only getting the 2nd highest rating despite never having failed a fact check.

The Intercept getting only a “mostly factual” rating (3rd highest) despite their admittance it has never failed a fact check.

Despite my personal opinions on the pointlessness of using a US based left/right bias criteria I'd feel better if it was at least kept it it's own section but when you allow it to affect the factual rating of the source it's just outright wrong. The factual accuracy of the website should be the sole thing that affects this rating.

Questionable Fact Checking

Even just checking some of their ratings raises doubts on the websites credibility.

The ADL is rated as high (2nd highest) and wasn’t found to fail any fact checks.

The ADL was found to be so unreliable on it's reporting of the Israel-Palestine conflict it is considered an unreliable source by Wikipedia.

“Wikipedia’s editors declared that the Anti-Defamation League cannot be trusted to give reliable information on the Israel-Palestine conflict, and they overwhelmingly said the ADL is an unreliable source on antisemitism.”

Maybe Wikipedia editors are a good arbiter of truth and maybe they aren’t but as people can see there isn’t a consensus and so by choosing Media Bias/Fact Check you’re explicitly choosing to align your “truth” with this websites biases.

load more comments (12 replies)
[-] Deceptichum@quokk.au 71 points 5 months ago

What a terrible idea.

MBFC is already incredibly biased.

It should be rejected not promoted.

[-] Rooki@lemmy.world 17 points 5 months ago

Ok then tell me an alternative we can use in the scale for free.

None? Then pls dont just complain complain complain... And dont suggest improvements.

[-] catloaf@lemm.ee 61 points 5 months ago

So much for "feedback is welcome" I guess

[-] goferking0@lemmy.sdf.org 19 points 5 months ago

Figured it would take more than a day for that response to happen lol

[-] Deceptichum@quokk.au 54 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

You don’t.

There doesn’t exist a site to magically do what you want.

Likewise it’s not needed. It doesn’t add to the quality of discussion on the community. All it’s going to do is cause conflict as we now have to constantly point out to people how garbage the source is so that they don’t let it influence them.

[-] TrippyFocus@lemmy.ml 36 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

As the other poster says we don’t need to have something like this at all.

If you’re adamant about it then make a post where people can suggest which one we use and vote on it. We can also adjust the bots comment to clearly call out the chosen ones biases and methodology. As it is now it’s actively harmful as I mention in my other comment.

[-] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 34 points 5 months ago

Every newspaper has its bias. MBFC heavily favors western liberal perspectives. It is often fine on domestic policy but not reliable when it comes to foreign policy.

As this is worldnews and not Americanews, MBFC ratings are not reliable. Articles should be judged by the evidence they provide.

[-] AhismaMiasma@lemm.ee 27 points 5 months ago
load more comments (2 replies)
[-] nia_the_cat@lemmy.world 19 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Seeing as this is the stance the admins stance on decisions that are majority hated by the community, I'm just gonna leave this instance and go to one with admins that are more user-focused.

I expect community leaders to take reasonable feedback from the community respectfully even if they disagree, rather than doubling down on very unpopular decisions. Especially when said community funds the platform.

The majority of the bots posts have more downvotes than upvotes. The community has voiced its dislike for this bot as a majority.

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] ArmokGoB@lemmy.dbzer0.com 59 points 5 months ago

Choosing one organization to be the arbiter of truth and bias gives them way too much power. I think fact checking should be the responsibility of whoever reads the article.

load more comments (6 replies)
[-] circuscritic@lemmy.ca 46 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Oh, lovely. Ministry of Truth Bots...

This is predicated on the assumption that those organizations are neutral arbitrators of facts, but they aren't.

They might have a better gauge on reality than OAN, or PatriotEagleNews.ru, but that doesn't mean platform moderators should present them as if they are a source of universal truth.

People can be critical of posts, comments, and their sources, without the heavy hand of moderators using a privatized Ministry of Truth.

We don't even have to look very far back to see how platform level "fact checking" systems are used and abused to silence and suppress information that goes against mainstream narratives or is viewed as politically damaging.

[-] Rooki@lemmy.world 15 points 5 months ago

Its better to have some "fact checking" than the "trust me bro" system.

We all know all "fact checking" systems have humans behind it, those humans can have biases, dislikes or do mistakes. But thats the reason why we should not have such system is not good. Its the viewers discretion to believe into the fact/bias checks of the given page. We are just giving our best effort to simplify the view.

Then i give you the recommendation to block the bot, if you dont like it.

[-] Deceptichum@quokk.au 44 points 5 months ago

No it’s not.

Bad fact checking is more harmful than not.

[-] circuscritic@lemmy.ca 40 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

You're putting your moderators hands on the scale and that far outweighs any community/user input into the validity of information discussed here.

On a completely unrelated note, did you know that Hamas went on a baby beheading spree on Oct. 7?

I know this because I read it on MSN.com, and your MediaBiasFactCheck said that MSN.com has a HIGH FACTUAL RATING

Anyone is free to rip apart my comment, and that source, but that task becomes more difficult when bots that have been anointed as bias and fact checkers, contradict them in any way, or are themselves biased.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] awesome_lowlander@lemmy.dbzer0.com 46 points 5 months ago

I'm just gonna drop this here as an example:

The Jerusalem Report (Owned by Jerusalem Post) and the Jerusalem Post

This biased as shit publication is declared by MBFC as VEEEERY slightly center-right. They make almost no mention of the fact that they cherry pick aspects of the Israel war to highlight, provide only the most favorable context imaginable, yadda yadda. By no stretch of the imagination would these publications be considered unbiased as sources, yet according to MBFC they're near perfect.

[-] Deceptichum@quokk.au 33 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Interesting how @Rooki is still a day later active in this post responding to all the comments supporting their bot, but manages to avoid replying to all the legitimate criticisms on display.

Really shows the mods don't value feedback, which begs the question why even bother making a thread to get feedback if you've already made up your mind.

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml 45 points 5 months ago

It has been pointed out multiple times that mbfc is ran by a Zionist.

There is no way the mod team is not aware of this by now so it must be on purpose.

load more comments (4 replies)
[-] Jaderick@lemmy.world 43 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I love this, but I would like to state that Media Bias Fact Check seems to have a pro-Israel bias.

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/mondoweiss/

  • Overall, we rate Mondoweiss as Left Biased and Questionable due to the blending of opinion with news, the promotion of pro-Palestinian and anti-zionist propaganda, occasional reliance on poor sources, and hate group designation by third-party pro-Israel advocates.

I feel like “blending of opinion with news” and “occasional reliance on poor sources” is all that really need be said.

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] Sami@lemmy.zip 38 points 5 months ago

That's just introducing 2 more sources of bias

load more comments (20 replies)
[-] sandbox@lemmy.world 33 points 5 months ago

Given the overwhelmingly negative response from the community, what is the justification for leaving the bot in place? Is it because the moderators think they know better than everyone else?

load more comments (8 replies)
[-] Jumuta@sh.itjust.works 25 points 5 months ago

could you have the bot automatically unvote its posts (make it 0) so it goes under new comments when sorted by votes?

the spoiler thing doesn't work on eternity and it kinda hides everything under it being so long

[-] catloaf@lemm.ee 27 points 5 months ago

I wish bot comments didn't count toward the comment count, too. It's annoying to see "1 comment" and then you look and it's just this or the summary bot.

[-] wurzelgummidge@lemmy.world 22 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Media Bias Fact Check is totally meaningless in world news since the overwhelming majority of international news coverage seen in the west is filtered through just three global agencies, AP, AFP and Reuters and they always toe a pro US/Nato line.

[-] aniki@lemmy.zip 20 points 5 months ago

So is it time for a new news community then if the admins don't want to listen?

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Enoril@jlai.lu 20 points 5 months ago

Remove that. It’s too US centric. I don’t want that here.

[-] jordanlund@lemmy.world 16 points 5 months ago
load more comments (1 replies)
[-] MediaBiasFactChecker@lemmy.world 15 points 5 months ago

Ground News Media Bias Fact Check Credibility: [High] (Click to view Full Report)

Ground News is rated with High Creditability by Media Bias Fact Check.

Bias: Least Biased
Factual Reporting: Mostly Factual
Country: Canada
Full Report: https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/ground-news/

Check the bias and credibility of this article on Ground.News:
- https://ground.news/find?url=https%3A%2F%2Fground.news%2F%29%2C

Media Bias/Fact Check Media Bias Fact Check Credibility: [High] (Click to view Full Report)

Media Bias/Fact Check is rated with High Creditability by Media Bias Fact Check.

Bias: Least Biased
Factual Reporting: Very High
Country: United States of America
Full Report: https://mediabiasfactcheck.com

Check the bias and credibility of this article on Ground.News:
- https://ground.news/find?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmediabiasfactcheck.com%2F%29

Media Bias/Fact Check Media Bias Fact Check Credibility: [High] (Click to view Full Report)

Media Bias/Fact Check is rated with High Creditability by Media Bias Fact Check.

Bias: Least Biased
Factual Reporting: Very High
Country: United States of America
Full Report: mediabiasfactcheck.com

Check the bias and credibility of this article on Ground.News:
- https://ground.news/find?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmediabiasfactcheck.com%2F%29


Media Bias Fact Check is a fact-checking website that rates the bias and credibility of news sources. They are known for their comprehensive and detailed reports.

Thanks to Media Bias Fact Check for their access to the API.
Please consider supporting them by donating.

Beep boop. This action was performed automatically. If you dont like me then please block me.đź’”
If you have any questions or comments about me, you can make a post to LW Support lemmy community.

[-] Deebster@infosec.pub 41 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Media Bias/Fact Check is rated with High Creditability by Media Bias Fact Check.

Good, I guess.

[-] Hubi@feddit.org 56 points 5 months ago
load more comments (2 replies)
[-] ptz@dubvee.org 15 points 5 months ago

But seriously, this is pretty great. Thanks for putting that together.

[-] bartolomeo@suppo.fi 15 points 5 months ago

Good, one should always refer to the Ministry of Truth before deciding what is true or false for The Party.

[-] goferking0@lemmy.sdf.org 15 points 5 months ago

Why does the bot spend so much space asking for donations to mediabiasfactcheck.com and thanking them for an api? Especially when it's one of the few areas not in a spoiler block so it's always shown?

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2024
199 points (100.0% liked)

World News

39522 readers
1789 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS