this post was submitted on 18 Jun 2025
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[–] Fletcher@lemmy.today 3 points 13 hours ago (3 children)

If I can find three reputable sources that say the same thing, I feel pretty confident in accepting it as fact. The real trick is finding reputable sources. Media Bias Fact Check is really helpful for this.

[–] throwawayacc0430@sh.itjust.works 3 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (1 children)

If I can find three reputable sources that say the same thing

They used to say ALL cholestrol was bad, every doctor said it. But then someone discovered about HDL and LDL

Also, doctors used to say smoking doesn't cause cancer.

[–] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 2 points 11 hours ago

Also, doctors used to say smoking doesn’t cause cancer.

Doctors paid by cigarette companies said that, and they were in a tiny minority of doctors.

There are scientists now who say global warming is a hoax because they have a monetary interest.

[–] Arkouda@lemmy.ca 1 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Have you ever tried the 1 Left, 1 center, 1 right source when looking into something? I try to do this myself when I have the time and can find the articles.

[–] naught101@lemmy.world 3 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

How do you define the centre? Do you account for existing wide-spread social biases? E.g. systemic racism, or the neoliberal belief that we can have infinite growth on a finite planet?

[–] Arkouda@lemmy.ca 1 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

The center is the middle of the right and left.

I am unsure what you are asking after that.

[–] halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 3 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

They're referring to the shifting variance between political sides and the range expressed between them. The Overton Window usually.

The Overton window is the range of subjects and arguments politically acceptable to the mainstream population at a given time. It is also known as the window of discourse. The key to the concept is that the window changes over time; it can shift, or shrink or expand. It exemplifies "the slow evolution of societal values and norms".

Outside of this window you still have Left and Right, but they're the more extreme beliefs that the general populace doesn't currently accept. The window shifting over time means something that would have been considered absolutely insane 20 years ago, could be entirely mainstream now.

A current example would be federal deployment of the military to handle local protests when there is no declared State of Emergency and local government doesn't need or want assistance.

[–] naught101@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

Yep, that's a big part of it..

But there's other aspects too (see my other comment replying to Arkouda)

[–] naught101@lemmy.world 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

But left and right aren't absolute positions, they change in time. E.g. democrats now hold a lot of similar positions to what the republicans held in the 1980s (and also a lot of different ones).

Left and right are also a unidimensional approximation of a multidimensional value space.. E.g. most people on the left disagree with nearly everything Marjorie Taylor Greene says, but they agree with her that the US should not be supporting Israel's war on Iran.

There are also people on the left AND the right that oppose global economic liberalisation, but what is often called the "centre" supports it - clearly not a "middle" stance.

So how can you meaningfully define what is led and what is right, for the purpose of your reading?

[–] Arkouda@lemmy.ca 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

But left and right aren’t absolute positions, they change in time.

What do you think that means for the center?

[–] naught101@lemmy.world 1 points 8 hours ago

That it also changes in time and is not absolute. And also, in many ways, that it does it does not exist (in the sense that the "centre" in one dimension might be correlated with extremes in another)

[–] Maalus@lemmy.world 1 points 13 hours ago (2 children)

It is itself extremely biased, you believed an authority that isn't neutral.

[–] Arkouda@lemmy.ca 1 points 13 hours ago

To my knowledge they have been criticized for being biased, but from what I can find their ratings don't differ drastically from other providers.

[–] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 1 points 13 hours ago

How so? Seemed reasonable enough for the few things I checked.