Winston Churchill
The term the ‘Fourth Estate’ was first coined by Edmund Burke in 1787 when referring to the opening of the House of Commons of Great Britain to newspaper reporting or the press. Thomas Carlyle in his book On Heroes and Hero Worship states, “Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all.”
The Fourth Estate still refers to the press, print journalism and newspapers, but the definition is broader and refers to news media on the whole. Having said that, newspapers still seem to be the backbone of The Fourth Estate and as we have seen recently, holds other media accountable.
The deliberate fabrication of news stories to fool or entertain is nothing new. But the arrival of social media has meant real and fictional stories are now presented in such a similar way that it can sometimes be difficult to tell the two apart. While the internet has enabled the sharing of knowledge in ways that previous generations could only have dreamed of, it has also provided ample proof of the line, often attributed to Winston Churchill, that "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on".
Media Bias
The three most common forms of media bias include:
Coverage bias (also known as visibility bias), when actors or issues are rendered more or less visible in the news.
Gatekeeping bias (also known as selectivity or selection bias), when stories are selected or deselected, sometimes on ideological grounds. It is sometimes also referred to as agenda bias, when the focus is on political actors and whether they are covered based on their preferred policy issues.
Statement bias (also known as tonality bias or presentation bias), when media coverage is slanted towards or against particular actors or issues.
“In a room where people unanimously maintain a conspiracy of silence, one word of truth sounds like a pistol shot.”
— Czesław Miłosz
Other common forms of political and non-political media bias include:
Advertising bias, when stories are selected or slanted to please advertisers.
Concision bias, a tendency to report views that can be summarized succinctly, crowding out more unconventional views that take time to explain.
Corporate bias, when stories are selected or slanted to please corporate owners of media.
Mainstream bias, a tendency to report what everyone else is reporting, and to avoid stories that will offend anyone.
Sensationalism, bias in favor of the exceptional over the ordinary, giving the impression that rare events, such as airplane crashes, are more common than common events, such as automobile crashes.
Structural bias, when an actor or issue receives more or less favorable coverage as a result of newsworthiness and media routines, not as the result of ideological decisions (e.g., incumbency bonus).
False balance, when an issue is presented as even sided, despite disproportionate amounts of evidence.
Our Tool
A survey conducted by the Pew Research Centre found 64 percent of American adults said made-up news stories were causing confusion about basic facts on current issues and events. In the past, poorly photoshopped images were the go-to source for spreading misinformation, and it was relatively easy to spot a fake image. But things have changed and the sheer number of fake memes and posts makes it virtually impossible to fact check each one, especially when high resolution photos are being misused and widely shared. Our Source Checking tool helps you determine if the news stories you read and share are coming from a strong source.
70%
of people surveyed for the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer are worried about Fake News being used as a weapon.
59%
of people surveyed for the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer said they were unsure what they see in the media is true and what isn't
63%
of people surveyed said the average person does not know how to tell good journalism from rumor or falsehoods. The report surveyed people in 28 countries.
"In a world where facts are under siege, credentialed sources are proving more important than ever," Stephen Kehoe, global chair of reputation at Edelman, said. "There are credibility problems for both platforms and sources. People's trust in them is collapsing."
Get Involved
How do we fight the spread of fake news or hyper biased stories? It is up to each of us to check the news sources for bias and accuracy every time we share a news story. We also need to call out bias and false reporting when we see these stories.