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Comment by state_less | Hacker News Reader

> All news is based.

The truth isn't biased, so if the news reports the truth, "x said y" and we have evidence that x said y, then it is not biased and therefore all new is NOT biased.

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That's not true at all. If I say "x said y", and don't tell you that "y said z", then that is biased, while telling you only the truth.

That's called a lie by omission, so in such a case, if you wanted to tell the truth, you'd have to include "y said z" or you'd be lying.

Right, so how do you determine how much you have to say to tell the "truth"? If someone makes a claim about an economic policy, is it "lying by omission" to not talk about the impact previous similar policies have been enacted? Or is that inserting your bias? If you aren't telling people the facts behind the claims then are you telling the truth? Which facts you decide to share or not share can be biased.

The choice of what facts to include and which to omit can result in bias.

This simple ad by The Guardian on perspective shows how news can easily show biases [1].

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3h-T3KQNxU&list=LL8yCOjMrFJ...

You still think the truth is objective after a year+ living in this alternative fact world? There is no such thing as a "truth" anymore. Even cold hard figures are negotiable. Remember "The employment rate was fake news before but it's very real now"

Don't let lies get to you. Never give up, never surrender.

It's not that lies are getting to me, it's that I've changed my view about the all-convincing nature of facts. I never before understood how easy it is for people to just pick and choose a set of base facts to support whatever reality they want to live in.

What truth you choose to report is biased. News can be biased by selective disclosure.

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