False Balance

Hi,

This week’s email is about a misleading (and unfortunately common) way of presenting information, which is important to watch out for.

The information here is from my article on the topic.

Here are the key practical points you should know:

• False balance occurs when multiple things (like theories) are presented as more equal to each other in some regard (like level of supporting evidence) than they really are.

• For example, false balance occurs when a journalist presents the baseless opinion of a random layperson as being equally informed to the evidence-based perspective of a scientific expert.

• To respond to false balance, you can explain why it’s false or ask questions that demonstrate this, explain the dangers of false balance, address the intentions that caused it (like a person’s desire to appear objective), or focus on a different argument that you want to convey.

• When responding, you should consider factors like what you aim to achieve, and keep in mind that not all balance is false.

• Make sure to also avoid promoting false balance yourself, by considering factors like how strong is the supporting evidence of several opposing stances, before deciding which ones to mention and how.

As always, I'm happy to hear your thoughts.

Have a great week,
Itamar