The Debate Club discussion

Discuss how to find reliable sources for your information, best ways to fact-check, and how to avoid misinformation.

for my information i always use ap news. it can be tedious to read bc for the most part it just lists the facts but at least that allows you to think rather than just consume

i've said this before and i'll say it again: AT LEAST THREE RELIABLE SOURCES!! not a youtube video, not biased new sites (like FOX news), it needs to be medically or scientifically backed up. at the very least nonpartisan
if you don't have at least three trustworthy sources all saying the same thing, then you're probably wrong and need to do more research. yes, peer reviewed papers are important but make sure you double check the source from which you're getting your information, because people lie about that all the time
good luck babes <3

I guess the first question is how do you know something is a reliable source?

And can something or someone be nonpartisan? Is that an achievable goal?

Austin wrote: "I guess the first question is how do you know something is a reliable source?"

Backed up by multiple scientific studies/statistics, from a news source rated low/no bias, and/or from a scientific or government website.

Austin wrote: "And can something or someone be nonpartisan? Is that an achievable goal?"

I'd say you can, with a lot of self-control.

Well who rates them as low bias? Who is to say those scientists are not just as biased.

You are easily describing a telephone game of bad info

Austin wrote: "I guess the first question is how do you know something is a reliable source?"

well first you have to cross-reference with other sources. who is the author of the paper and what are their credentials? is the source known for it's credibility? all can be found using a simple google search
medical websites are usually the most reliable, and websites with a lot of ads in the margins usually aren't. look for evidence used to back up their claims that is NOT personal opinion, as well as grammatical errors. also check the publication date and how recent the information is.
if the paper's intention is to persuade you into thinking or doing something, it is biased and not a reliable source. also look for .edu or .gov websites
i could go on, but i'd recommend doing your own research <3

I dont think you can be unbiased. Everyone has beliefs they hold to view the world through. You can be aware of your bias. But you cant escape that

Austin wrote: "I dont think you can be unbiased. Everyone has beliefs they hold to view the world through. You can be aware of your bias. But you cant escape that"

you absolutely can be unbiased. just don't bring personal opinions into your work. there's such a thing as using purely facts to back up your claims, and putting your personal opinions aside. it's the same technique you use to write research papers. if you bring your personal opinions into your argument, that is not an accurate way to share information

i don't think you can be unbiased either. but i do feel like you can get close to it when publishing stuff, like if it was a scientific study done by partners who were politically and morally opposite, it would probably end up nonpartisan. but in the real world you should always know/try to figure out the bias of whatever source you're referencing

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Every research paper ive read and written has opinion lmao

Why error bruh

MidnightButterfly wrote: ""

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Here: https://ei.marketwatch.com/Multimedia...

MidnightButterfly wrote: "Here: https://ei.marketwatch.com/Multimedia..."

Thanks! On the bottom of the image it says something about 2018, does that mean the image was created in 2018? It might not be accurate any more

Barnette wrote: "MidnightButterfly wrote: "Here: https://ei.marketwatch.com/Multimedia..."

Thanks! On the bottom of..."

Not saying I doubt the accuracy of the chart, I was just pointing that out

Yeah it is feom 2018 i will find one more recent

2025: https://wilmlibrary.org/wp-content/up...

MidnightButterfly wrote: "Yeah it is feom 2018 i will find one more recent"

Ohk thanks

MidnightButterfly wrote: "2025: https://wilmlibrary.org/wp-content/up..."

Cool, thx!

Yeah but everyone has layers of bias from the cultural to the political to the gender. This can lead to bad science. Like the case if cheddar man is a famous case of bad science.

The lead archologist wanted to show that POCs were always in the UK so they purposely changed the pigment of the model they constructed

Austin wrote: "Yeah but everyone has layers of bias from the cultural to the political to the gender. This can lead to bad science. Like the case if cheddar man is a famous case of bad science.

The lead archolo..."

then that's not a reliable source of information? idk what to tell you lol

My point in bringing that up, is that find was shared uncritically all around many “reliable” science magazines and sites. Most of which were never corrected. Someone would see that “oh hey this is a government website.” Or science journal and read this junk science. They would follow the steps you provided and be mislead.

Austin wrote: "My point in bringing that up, is that find was shared uncritically all around many “reliable” science magazines and sites. Most of which were never corrected. Someone would see that “oh hey this is..."

Then find more than one website/study saying the same thing

Barnette wrote: "Austin wrote: "My point in bringing that up, is that find was shared uncritically all around many “reliable” science magazines and sites. Most of which were never corrected. Someone would see that ..."

exactly!

Austin wrote: "My point in bringing that up, is that find was shared uncritically all around many “reliable” science magazines and sites. Most of which were never corrected. Someone would see that “oh hey this is..."

you need to go to government verified websites though, if you're looking for information on medical/science/government stuff. some science journals aren't reliable because they're never been fact checked. most .gov websites are fact checked
it honestly pains me to see how many of you weren't taught how to find reliable information in school

Okay but .gov websites are politicall influenced

https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheet...

For example. This is a .gov website talking about removing DEI. the language used is political

You may think whats being said is utter bs
That proves that .gov websites are political

alr look i've told you everything that they tell you in school, do with that what you will

Lol every dissertstion ive written has involved me sitting there with the media bias rater and writing a footnote on evey source talking about its bias 😭😭

idk everything is kinda crazy rn so i'm just saying what my professor said 😭😭 i guess you can't really write anything without bias, but if you're trying to inform someone of a historical event, that's the only situation i can think of with no bias

rainy ୨ৎ {warner's version} wrote: "idk everything is kinda crazy rn so i'm just saying what my professor said 😭😭 i guess you can't really write anything without bias, but if you're trying to inform someone of a historical event, tha..."

Historical events have no bias? Dang youre so wring 😭😭
As in the only history we knowmis that has been weitten from the sources of the time, with thiermown bias
And the sources abaibale to the public, which is through our education system, which also has biases

You know it's true when it aligns with your inner morality compass. You don't need to fact check

MidnightButterfly wrote: "rainy ୨ৎ {warner's version} wrote: "idk everything is kinda crazy rn so i'm just saying what my professor said 😭😭 i guess you can't really write anything without bias, but if you're trying to infor..."

nooo i mean if you're watching a documentary or smth, they're supposed to have no bias and just tell you the facts

rainy ୨ৎ {warner's version} wrote: "MidnightButterfly wrote: "rainy ୨ৎ {warner's version} wrote: "idk everything is kinda crazy rn so i'm just saying what my professor said 😭😭 i guess you can't really write anything without bias, but..."

Supposed to be

MidnightButterfly wrote: "Okay but .gov websites are politicall influenced"

agreed, for example whitehouse.gov is definitely very influenced

Not to be mean rainy but this is what we are talking about. We should not just consume things and assume they are unbiased everyone has a persecutive and an angle

i'm just telling you what every professor says about finding reliable information 😭😭 and not to be mean but y'all are pulling out youtube links and blog posts as your information sources so... yeah

anyways i guess everything is influenced by opinion in some way, but some sources are more reliable than others. that's all i'm saying 🤷‍♀️ i guess everyone has their own opinions on what's reliable and what's not, and it also depends on the information you're trying to find 😭

I've always gone to the original source instead of news reporting. That means watching someone on video actually saying the words that were reported. Sadly, that's not even reliable anymore due to AI. We can't believe what we see a person saying in an interview. We now have no reality on which to base our opinions. We might as well give up.

i've found that if you read different accounts and sides of the same story you can basically infer the truth

Scout wrote: "I've always gone to the original source instead of news reporting. That means watching someone on video actually saying the words that were reported. Sadly, that's not even reliable anymore due to ..."

agreed!

for the ai thing though (as of right now) there are ways to tell if a video/image is ai generated ive found super helpful stuff on youtube if someone wants a link

https://www.allsides.com/news-source/... Tells you if an article is right, left, or center leaning!! :)

oooooh i've heard of allsides!! it's cracked

I'd like that link, Sai

Scout wrote: "I'd like that link, Sai"

ai writing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ch4a...
ai videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4TXO...
ai photos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5_Pr...