Tips on How to Read "Breaking News" in MSMedia

Tips on How to Read "Breaking News" in MSMedia

Perhaps we need a similar guide for how to handle breaking news that comes from the Washington Post. It turns out we can keep many of the tips:

1. In the immediate aftermath, news outlets will get it wrong.
2. Don’t trust anonymous sources. If democracy dies in darkness, anonymity is not exactly transparent or accountable. Unless someone is willing to to put his or her name with a leak, be on guard. Pay attention to how well the reporters characterize the motivations of the anonymous leaker. All leakers have motivation. Does the paper seem to have a grasp on how the motivation affects the veracity of the leak?
3. If someone is leaking national security information in order to support the claim of a national security violation, be on guard.
4. If someone is claiming a serious national security crisis but not willing to go public with the claim and resign in protest of same, be on guard.
5. Compare sources willing to put their name and reputation on the line.
6. Big anti-Trump news brings out the fakers.
7. Pay attention to the language that the media uses. Is a story about something unimportant being written in such a way as to make it seem more important?
8. Beware confirmation bias. Everyone has the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one’s existing beliefs or theories. Be on guard that you don’t accept critical or exonerating evidence to match your political preferences.
9. Pay attention to how quickly and fully editors and reporters correct stories based on false information from anonymous sources. If they don’t correct at all, it’s an indication of a lack of respect.

Mollie Ziegler Hemingway is a senior editor at The Federalist.