How to Spot Bias in the Media – BTN Media Literacy

[Music] captain's log stardate 2250 955 we're approaching an unknown vessel that I don't much like the look of to be honest [Music] we are receiving a signal captain it is the blurred the blerg a vile and contemptuous race who delight in chaos anarchy contemptuous Ness and vile yes have you ever seen someone make a judgement before all the facts are in it may have been biased they are trying to communicate captain shall I initiate translation no need machine it's probably a declaration of war ready defense shields and set phasers to phased really phased big black

bias is a preference or prejudice for or against a person a group an idea or anything really and you know what we're all a little biased [Music] from the time were little we start developing tastes and preferences for all sorts of things come sweetie come on from the people we like to hang out with to the food we like to eat you're going to love Soylent blue flavor once good please we're influenced by our families communities and our own experiences we're also influenced by the media or a yummy nutritious treat try Soylent blue with our

special secret ingredient we'll have you wanting more from the first taste it's great tasting and great for the environment bias happens because our brains are kind of hardwired to take shortcuts to use a limited amount of information to make assumptions and draw conclusions bias can even be useful in some situations because it helps us to make decisions quickly but it can also lead us to make the wrong decisions and to be unfairly prejudiced against people groups and ideas and that's why it's important to be able to recognize bias in our own attitudes and in the

media coming up tonight exclusive board blog teenagers on a crime rampage authorities powerless to stop them out of control I saw angry that they're getting away with it you got to say to yourself you shonky plug you think the plugs could actually bring about the end of mankind well you see the alien menace on our streets Odeon tonight media bias can have a big impact and it can exist for a number of different reasons sir we're expecting very high ratings for our latest piece on blog teenagers excellent underling if we keep the humans focused on

the blog's they'll never suspect our true plan for world domination sometimes media bias is a deliberate attempt by organizations individuals or governments to influence the way people think all the way they vote [Laughter] but it's not always about world domination sometimes bias is about money and commercial pressures how are you I'm well good I'm glad to hear it are you ready to go I am are you ready okay and three two one rolling I'm here with world-famous socialite philanthropist and of course the creator of everybody's favorite food substitute Soylent flu mister media organisations often need

to sell ads to make money Thank You Tiffany it's a real pleasure to be here with you today at Soylent blue we're on a mission to fight Collective warming and save the world with the help of our secret ingredient sounds wonderful and delicious speaking of which I don't suppose you'd like to tell us any more about that secret ingredient of yours no but of course the real secret sometimes journalists will face pressure to keep sponsors happy by portraying them in a positive light or by ignoring negative stories about the businesses that pay the bills Nathan

are the truth solid blue it's made of paintball blues many people let me go turn the camera off shall we do another take here it's so that blue we like four people first we put people into everything that we do not literally of course about southeast Chile as we always say here at so it flew it's definitely not people sometimes media organizations are biased simply because they're trying to boost ratings the explosion seems to be the result of some kind of moon shooting a laser the planet it's why they often choose stories that are exciting

in a more scandalous Affairs has admitted to claiming intergalactic travel expenses for his blurk mistress it's also why they sometimes deliberately back a popular political view ok viewers I'm getting sick and tired of these blog apologists I love this show you see we humans have a powerful urge to be right it's called confirmation bias and it makes us seek out information that proves what we already think we need to stand up for human values am i right am i right sure that's what I always say media organizations know that by appealing to the existing bias

of their audience they're making their audience happy and encouraging them to keep watching [Music] captain where have you been we have a card topaz situation here sorry first I was having some executive time so how do you spot bias well sometimes it's obvious but not always bias can be subtle give me a status report well I don't think we should shoot I don't think they were just you're fired find me someone who'll agree with me it could be that a certain group of people or a certain type of story isn't represented as much in the

media or they're represented differently [Music] they can also be biased in the selection of stories which ones are told and which ones are left out and that can be biased in the way a story is told in the choice of pictures or words look at that expression pure malice captain deep blue do not have facial expressions they always look like that quiet talking machine I think you're supposed to call in an Android my name is Kevin debris proximity alert fire on my signal but the blood with blood blood blood blood blood but when you're looking

for bias in the media it's really important to remember that just because you disagree with something that doesn't necessarily mean it's biased captain the blerg are sending us some sort of signal what are you some kind of probe lag spy I am working on the translation software in fact sometimes the real reason we think something is biased is because we're biased ourselves three - please acknowledge greetings fellow travelers it is so nice to see you here in the void of space what do you want blurgh we would like to share something with you to show

our friendship we are sending you a traditional worth greeting the signal captain it's it's music let us forget our differences and Hooghly together yes let's dance [Music] it's always worth stepping back and taking a minute to try to see things from another point of view recognizing and challenging bias isn't always easy but it can help us to seek out new truths explore different points of view and boldly learn about the world around us [Music] [Music]