NationStates Jolt Archive

How can any of us trust what is being said in the media about the
candidates? How much of the information we are receiving is lies?

How can any of us trust what is being said in the media about the
candidates? How much of the information we are receiving is lies?

Thats why those of us with brains ignore the media and choose our canditate by throwing darts at a wall.

Thats why those of us with brains ignore the media and choose our canditate by throwing darts at a wall.
I like that. heads is bush... wait... ;)

You have to use critical thinking skills. You have to use logic. You have to cross-check things, even if that means looking in to sites or media outlets you don't normally agree with. You have to approach the facts asserted, rather than attacking the messenger. You have to hope. You have to get lucky. No one, including one's self, will ever be completely "right."

Everything the mainstream media says is a lie. You have to look at alternative sources.

Everything the mainstream media says is a lie. You have to look at alternative sources.

Okay, reel it in a bit there bub. Not everything they say is a lie. You simply have to be critical of it, take it with a grain of salt, and cross-check things you see. Take nothing at face value.

How can any of us trust what is being said in the media about the
candidates? How much of the information we are receiving is lies?

I can help you with that, stay away from Fox News, Bill O'Reilly, Shaun Hennery, and Rush Limbough. I know I may have spelled half of those names wrong.

Okay, reel it in a bit there bub. Not everything they say is a lie. You simply have to be critical of it, take it with a grain of salt, and cross-check things you see. Take nothing at face value.

Exactly. Cross-check things, keep timelines in your head, consider possible motivations of sources and the likelihood of such motivations. Internet sources for example are generally less trustable as they have to maintain a lesser amount of credibility to remain in production. And don't just beleive a story/point of view because it agrees with your own thoughts. Ask questions. Establish why, how, what, who, when, and where from multiple angles. Keep an even keel.

I look for independent research; for example, if I want to know about media bias I will look for polls of media members to see what they say about their own political views, like this one: http://www.mediaresearch.org/biasbasics/welcome.asp#conservative

I can help you with that, stay away from Fox News, Bill O'Reilly, Shaun Hennery, and Rush Limbough. I know I may have spelled half of those names wrong.
Not necessarily. One of the things news media sources control is the "agenda" of their programs. If there's a story which doesn't match with their political leanings/bias/whatever, they aren't going to give it time. Whereas other outlets with different politial biases (like those you mention) will. This doesn't make the story any less or more viable. Look for news from multiple sources, but be skeptical when you get it. And don't stay in just one news sphere.

The Mainstream Media has been a joke for a few years now, and with Blogs and other Internet services, they are exposed minutes after reporting garbage, much like this week’s debacle.

www.factcheck.org ... they're both liars. :)

i have no problem trusting the big news outlets in their reporting of bare facts. they are seldom lying about stuff. for example there ARE explosives missing in iraq.

but you do have to look for bias and discount some things that are opinion.

it reminds me of when i was 12 and asked my mother what a venereal disease was (thats what we called stds in the 60s). she told me it was what bad girls got when they made out with boys in gravel pits(dont ask) i immediately knew that she meant a sexually transmitted disease. i looked past the editorializing and got the fact behind it.

their opinion doesnt have to be your opinion. but just because a story is ON foxnews doesnt mean that its a conservative lie. there are facts there that you can take from the story and form your own opinion.

You have to use critical thinking skills. You have to use logic. You have to cross-check things, even if that means looking in to sites or media outlets you don't normally agree with. You have to approach the facts asserted, rather than attacking the messenger. You have to hope. You have to get lucky. No one, including one's self, will ever be completely "right."

Logic dictates that John Kerry & George Bush are both lying to the public. Opposing voters fight over which has made the biggest lie. "The Lesser Of Two Evils" is not how to vote for our President.

I know very well that all of our successful politicians are lying to us. I don't want to hope or pray for luck in the future, I want people to see what I see and stop voting for either party.

We need the "common man" running the government.

The American media is controlled by Democratic and Republican parties. Television, Radio, Newspapers - they're unscrupulous - they have created this political game that has turned Americans against each other into a competition that will never include anyone other than the two major parties.

Too many people are falling for it every election, and newer voters haven't been around long enough to see the cycle that each President recreates.

I like that. heads is bush... wait... ;)

even better than that is to put pictures of the canditates on the wall and pick the one with the most holes in it after a drunken dart fest

Easy. Watch CNN (liberal), and then flip to Fox News Channel (Conservative). Then you should have both sides.

Easy. Watch CNN (liberal), and then flip to Fox News Channel (Conservative). Then you should have both sides.
Or watch the Daily Show (Nuetral)

Or watch the Daily Show (Nuetral)
Except that's not news; it is entertainment.

And on my earlier post in this thread, it pains me to say something like that, majoring in journalism and all.