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[-] Wrench@lemmy.world 15 points 9 months ago

Really wish people would stop posting / up voting garbage opinion pieces here. I want facts, not hot takes.

[-] Dave@iusearchlinux.fyi 11 points 9 months ago

Big, solid, nuanced take against the 11 page opinion piece.

Maybe tell the other folks reading the same online conversation platform as you are what you thought made this specific link you decided to comment on "garbage".

[-] SkepticalButOpenMinded@lemmy.ca 7 points 9 months ago

I am someone who is against opinion pieces in general, regardless of the content. Nate Silver also has an argument against them: the main difference with an opinion piece and normal journalism is that opinions don’t need to be fact checked. In which case there’s no reason for them to exist. If the argument cannot survive fact checking, it shouldn’t be published.

[-] banneryear1868@lemmy.world 8 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Opinions, columns, and editorials are all traditional news formats where a known personality gives their take on current events. Basically you can't "fact check" someone's commentary because they're not reporting factual takes on current events, and you can't really objectively say "your analogy to this historical event is not analogous enough" for instance because there isn't really measures for these things. Nate Silver's argument against them is itself an opinion that can't be fact checked. "Fact checking" itself is also determined by the ideology you're choosing to determine facts by or even which specific facts are chosen to be highlighted in an article. What is and what ought isn't something that you can simply fact check.

[-] SkepticalButOpenMinded@lemmy.ca 5 points 9 months ago

The fact that it’s “traditional” is not a good reason to keep something around despite the negative consequences. The fact is, most news consumers do not know about the lower editorial standards of opinion articles, so opinion pieces have been a significant source of misinformation. This is how we get Jim Carey writing about climate skepticism in a major newspaper.

What’s so impossible about a fact-checked journalistic article entitled: “Should opinion pieces be eliminated?” Seems possible to me!

[-] banneryear1868@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago

I think it's just a silly proposal that's hardly worth debating so I can see why it appeals to someone like Nate Silver. The notion that you could control misinformation by removing certain writing styles from circulation is incredibly stupid. Plus on social media everyone is an opinion writer now.

[-] SkepticalButOpenMinded@lemmy.ca 0 points 9 months ago

Calling it “silly” and “incredibly stupid” is not an argument. I’m not even sure how to respond to this.

[-] banneryear1868@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

You're wanting to restrict the styles of writing people can publish, it's totalitarian in an absurd way.

[-] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

Moral ought from an is. Just because news sources have decided to put opinion pieces in doesn't mean that it is right that they did.

[-] TheSanSabaSongbird@lemdro.id 2 points 9 months ago

That's just intellectually lazy. We should be able to process analysis that isn't our own.

[-] SkepticalButOpenMinded@lemmy.ca 0 points 9 months ago

Then you are also intellectually lazy, because there is no way you are verifying the truth of every claim made in the articles you read. The role of newspapers is to inform people, not make random claims of dubious truth and have readers “do their own work”. It’s astounding that people are actually against basic fact checking.

[-] spaceghoti@lemmy.one 2 points 9 months ago

Did you notice how this opinion piece is littered with links sourcing what Kagan is talking about? This article is easily fact-checked. It's not the author's fault if you're not willing to do your due diligence.

[-] ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)
[-] SkepticalButOpenMinded@lemmy.ca 0 points 9 months ago

You seem to think my objection has something to do with whether it’s obvious that this particular piece is an opinion piece? I have no idea why you think this. Completely bizarre, and what an unnecessarily aggressive tone.

I am against opinion pieces because most consumers do not know that they have lower editorial standards, making them a big source of misinformation. If opinion pieces had the same journalistic standards, I would not be opposed to them.

[-] ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)
[-] SkepticalButOpenMinded@lemmy.ca 0 points 9 months ago

Do my words say that I didn’t notice it was an opinion piece or something? How is this related to your strange diatribe?

[-] ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)
[-] SkepticalButOpenMinded@lemmy.ca 0 points 9 months ago

What? I’m sorry I hurt your feelings but I don’t really understand what you’re so angry about.

[-] ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

deleted by creator

[-] Wrench@lemmy.world -1 points 9 months ago

No thanks. I do not want to talk about or critique an opinion piece. I want objective political news from this channel. Leave opinion for the comments.

[-] Dave@iusearchlinux.fyi 0 points 9 months ago

Who knew only anons had the dibs on writing or speaking their opinions!

[-] Wrench@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

24 hour news networks need to fill their time with opinion pieces. We have plenty of other content in other communities to fall back on. We don't need filler content promoted here.

[-] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

Hot take: rap rock is inferior to both styles it derives from and the rap in the middle is not as good as the traditional chorus.

this post was submitted on 04 Dec 2023
439 points (84.0% liked)

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