The danger of hyperlinks and how to find news without bias

I’m frequently asked how to find unbiased news. There’s not a simple answer to that question, in part because there’s little agreement about what “bias” is. It exists on a scale from fabrication to subtle misrepresentation, from premeditated with malicious intent to unintentional. But if I had to sum up my response it would be: “You have to supplement what you read with your own research.”

One example relates to hyperlinks in news stories. Don’t trust the words that are hyperlinked unless you click on the link and read the supporting article. I’m not suggesting intentional bias – in most cases. There’s a simple reason that hyperlinks often are misleading; it’s hard to summarize an entire article in one word or phrase.

Here’s an example from an NPR article, pegged to the power calamity in Texas, about the natural gas industry that I read this morning. 

“They argue that using natural gas is compatible with addressing climate change, despite scientific evidence to the contrary.”

However, if you click on the hyperlink and read the article, you find that the point it makes is far more nuanced than “despite scientific evidence to the contrary” implies. The most significant facts from the comprehensive Reuters report are these: Natural gas produces about half as much carbon dioxide when burned as coal does; if natural gas-fueled electricity generation replaces coal-fueled electricity generation, it reduces CO2 emissions; there’s evidence that natural gas is increasing instead of reducing CO2 because it’s supplementing coal instead of replacing it.

So, the article does not support the statement that natural gas is incompatible with addressing climate change. It indicates that as currently used natural gas is not helping addressing climate change.

I don’t think this was a case of intentional bias. And some surely will quibble with my interpretation of the Reuters article. The point is you cannot adequately describe a nuanced article in one phrase, or even in one paragraph. If you want to know the full story, you have to read the full article. And if you want a really detailed picture of the issue, you probably need to do some research beyond reading the article.