284

Why does the "Media Bias Fact Checker" - Bot gets downvoted so much lately? (lemmy.world)

submitted 3 months ago by Roflmasterbigpimp@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

163 comments fedilink hide all child comments

No comments or anything, just lots of Downvotes.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] Maggoty@lemmy.world 113 points 3 months ago

Because it's biased itself. They whitewash far right conservative sources while listing anything that tries to remain neutral and fact based as having a left bias. Left center to be exact. Then they put far right stuff in "right center" to make you think it's equivalent.

Their factual rating is largely subjective as well. With similar amounts of failed fact checks getting different ratings.

So basically the guys who want to be the guardians of fact and bias are themselves acting in a biased manner instead of an objective one.

[-] intensely_human@lemm.ee 5 points 3 months ago

I only ever hear people mention “far right” (not familiar with this bot).

Are there any sources that you, yourself, would consider “right center”?

[-] Maggoty@lemmy.world 8 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

~~Bloomberg~~, Forbes, and Fox News jump to mind.

Edit - you know looking at Bloomberg's site again I think you could make an argument for it but it does appear to be mostly concerned with fact based news centered on the finance industry. I'm just used to seeing shit guest opinion articles from them.

Edit edit - in their place I offer up CNBC with their personal finance propaganda perpetually trying to convince Americans they just aren't budgeting well enough.

[-] SGforce@lemmy.ca 6 points 3 months ago

Financial times, Newsweek

[+] dramaticcat@discuss.tchncs.de -23 points 3 months ago

Because it’s biased itself. They whitewash far right conservative sources while listing anything that tries to remain neutral and fact based as having a left bias. Left center to be exact. Then they put far right stuff in “right center” to make you think it’s equivalent.

Source?

[-] Maggoty@lemmy.world 41 points 3 months ago

You can check the categories on the MBFC website yourself but a couple choice picks in the "right center" category are the Ayn Rand Institute, advocates for self governance, and American Action Network.

The first two are libertarian and pro Anarcho Capitalism. The second one attempts to masquerade as a non political education tool about politics. And third is a partisan group that runs campaign ads for the GOP.

Meanwhile in left center we have NYT, WAPO, and BBC.

[-] intensely_human@lemm.ee 4 points 3 months ago

Do you consider the GOP to be “far right”?

[-] Maggoty@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

I see how that happened. If you check down thread though you'll see I would rate a campaign organization for the GOP as right, not far right.

[+] dramaticcat@discuss.tchncs.de -31 points 3 months ago

You can check the categories on the MBFC website yourself but a couple choice picks in the “right center” category are the Ayn Rand Institute, advocates for self governance, and American Action Network.

The first two are libertarian and pro Anarcho Capitalism. The second one attempts to masquerade as a non political education tool about politics. And third is a partisan group that runs campaign ads for the GOP.

Meanwhile in left center we have NYT, WAPO, and BBC.

Looking through all the sources you mentioned, especially the center-right sources, the ratings tend to be accurate. Did you expect the center right sources to be rated as far right and the center left sources to be rated as right wing?

[-] Maggoty@lemmy.world 33 points 3 months ago

I expect the fact based objective sources to be rated as center/not biased. And sources calling for a complete destruction of liberal democracy to be far right, yes. The campaign site should be listed under Right as it's transparently a partisan organization.

The comparison with leftists here would be if they listed Anarcho-Communists as "left center". But then your response tells me everything I need to know. You've gone right into exaggerated rhetoric meant to paint me as someone from the far left.

this post was submitted on 15 Aug 2024

284 points (91.8% liked)

Ask Lemmy

26875 readers

1933 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.