The mass media, and now also social media, are both immensely powerful. They have the wherewithal to make the innocent appear guilty, the guilty appear innocent, and to endlessly muddy the waters in between. Also, with the advent of A.I., our ability to differentiate between accurately reported and fake news is already being eroded. As regards media bias, the issue is much wider than mere political, religious or even morality-based leanings. A major bias factor is the drive for increased readership/viewing figures, and hence profit. The media also have a tendency to present gossip, rumour, and speculation as fact, and can always trot out a paid expert to back this up, despite the fact that a different expert can usually be found to refute the first one. So we should never forget that with the mass media the primary bias is more often than not, the drive to improve ratings.. a commercial decision. The position with Social Media is slightly more complex. Here, the influence of personal agendas is very much to the fore, as contributors seek out mass media “facts” (but see above for the problems with that), which support their particular standpoint, and comment accordingly. Those who disagree then have two options. The first is to seek out “facts” which effectively contradict the original argument, or alternatively, to claim that the “rock solid” case which is being presented, is based on the shifting sands of unsupported speculation. In my experience, the latter approach tends to be both more rational and more credible, although there will always be exceptions. As for the “impartiality” of Ad Fontes Media, as I have no knowledge of them, I am unable to comment. However, I would most certainly welcome any intervention which would afford an opportunity for a more balanced presentation of “the news” in general, as that would most certainly help encourage a more open-minded, socially responsible and positive debate about the issues which challenge our society. So good luck with that. They’ll need it, bearing in mind the entrenched power that our mass media have developed over the years, and will not easily give up.
