Saturday, November 25, 2017

Are liberals and conservatives equivalently biased?

See this article, which notes: "'How can you even compare the topics liberals are biased about to the topics conservatives are bias about! — know that it is possible to be both biased and correct." If you're biased about being correct that is a good and healthy bias, and not at all like being biased about fake news. It is indeed a false equivalence by those who falsely think we have to be 'fair' with people that are just plain wrong.

From the referenced meta-analysis: "While both sides of the political aisle preferentially seek out information that supports rather than challenges their political views, several studies have found this tendency to be more pronounced in conservatives than liberals" (21). On p. 22 they specifically address the 'false equivalence' by saying it is "inaptly characterized," but also acknowledge in the same paragraph that finding such equivalence can be problematic. Looking for such equivalence to be 'fair' is itself a bias that tainted this meta-analysis to compare those liberal views as based on reality to be equivalently 'biased.' Balderdash I say!

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