FACT-CHECKER
?
Several
months ago (Dec 2016) There was a flap on Forbes about Snopes It
was started by Kalev
Leetaru in his article titled "The
Daily Mail Snopes Story And Fact Checking The Fact Checkers".
It was at the time that Snopes' husband-wife founders were
concluding a very public divorce, and people were arguing over
whether Snopes was still to be considered trustworthy as an
"unbiased" source.
I
had posted this comment "About Bias" shortly after
the original article came out:
About
BIAS (December 2016)
“We
are unBiased”; that is what all of the self proclaimed “Fact
Checkers” say. It is their bread and butter, a ruse to get
‘everyone’ to think as they do. By my own definition they
fit within a rule that I established about 30 years ago (see below).
My answer is to get the opinions of people with strong biases
from each side of an issue before deciding for yourself. Repeat
that process frequently, recognizing and admitting your own bias.
“If
ANYONE tells you they are NOT biased, then they will LIE to you about
ANYTHING.” (Dann J. Flesher) (an original Flesher-ism, circa 1985)
Today, eight months later, I received notice of yet another comment on the original story. Over this time there have been pro/con comments, portraying either the avid trust of Snopes by some, or the disgust with Snopes by others. Does this "Fact Checker" have the ability to judge all matters of human endeavors by claiming to operate as an "UNBIASED" source?
So, with the continuing comments, I felt compelled to repeat my own position, which, I had vainly hoped
would end the discussion.months ago. My position is about all such sources of judgement, not just Snopes. This position is rather harsh and
perhaps abrasive to some, and I can find no flaw in it, but then, I do admit
that I am Biased.
To clarify, I personally have several 'biases', especially on subjects like Religion and
Politics. Recently I noted that I have a Political Bias
somewhere to the right of Genghis Khan. However I also have a
strong Religious Bias... which thankfully prevents me from acting out
my Political Bias.
Dann
Flesher (July 20,2017)
At the risk of being
redundant I will repeat my comment on this article made months ago.
Since I have never heard it said before, and no one seems prone to repeat
it, I will retain (and renew) my copyright on it here: repeat it
only with the copyright notice attached. Since all humans are
biased, this rule also applies to almost (?) every “human run Fact Checker”:
“When someone says they are
NOT biased, they will lie to you about anything.” (c) DJF 2017
Selah
