In the age of digital journalism, there is no shortage of new-age independent online publications. These publications pride themselves on such independence and pit themselves against mainstream media sources, as Americans’ distrust in the media is growing. Now more than ever, these publications should satiate the American public’s innate desire for authenticity.
While this distrust permeates throughout American culture, studies show that it is disproportionately felt by those sitting on the Right side of the aisle. According to studies by the Pew Research Organization, Republicans’ trust in national media sources has fallen more than 30%. See the graph below.
Source: Pew Research
With the levels of trust drastically decreasing amongst Republicans, sources such as Liberty Nation have attempted to rise to the occasion. Liberty Nation’s About Us section describes the publication, stating:
“We are free market, conservative, and populist, but we all cling to the nation’s founding principles and US Constitution. We are bold and edgy, seeking to encourage intelligent, compelling dialogue alongside wise and thoughtful readers. We seek a civil discourse that lets freedom ring, but we do not suffer loonies and haters.”
The fundamental objective of Liberty Nation is to challenge what they perceive as partial and biased news coverage by mainstream media and institutions. In this article, we will explore the possibility of the publication’s success in achieving this aim.
Does Reliability Matter?
Reliability, in general, refers to how trustworthy or accurate information, or in this case, a news source is. If we consider this definition, it quickly becomes clear why reliability is important in media sources. If we can’t trust the things we read then there isn’t much of a point in continuing to consume content from that source, after all. So how exactly can we gauge the reliability of a news source anyways?
There are several potential measures of reliability to look out for when trying to determine whether a media source is reliable or not. Red flags for an unreliable article can include the presence of wild unsubstantiated claims, facts dependent on other unreliable sources, heavy use of opinionated language, and more. Some indicators of a reliable news source, on the other hand, include things like:
- Absence of subjective/opinionated language in articles
- Credible sources cited (e.g., neutral sources, .gov, .edu websites)
- Facts and statistics backed by multiple relevant outside sources
- Use of primary sources when possible (e.g., interviews, quotes)
- Information that remains consistent across news sources
How Does Liberty Nation Fare in its Reliability?
Emphasizing the role of Biasly’s political bias index in the evaluation of Liberty Nation’s reliability is crucial. Biasly’s assessment, which granted Liberty Nation Computer and Analyst ratings of Fair Reliability, offers an objective framework for readers to evaluate this publication. These ratings, indicating a relatively low-reliability score, highlight the importance of readers approaching Liberty Nation’s content with caution. This approach encourages readers to critically assess the information they consume, underlining their significant role in determining the reliability of the news they read.
Our Reliability ratings are primarily based on the number and diversity of sources used, their quality, and the evaluation of selection and omission bias within the article. This comprehensive approach ensures that our ratings reflect the overall reliability of the news source, providing readers with a clear understanding of the basis of our assessment.
The Fact Analysis score is more heavily weighted when computing the article’s Average Reliability. These ratings are as follows in the next two paragraphs:
Liberty Nation’s Fact Analysis Score, rated as ‘Fair,’ implies that readers can trust some, but not all, of its online content. The Fact Analysis score primarily focuses on the accuracy of claims, facts, and sources presented in the article and any indications of selection and omission bias, which we will delve into later in the article.
Liberty Nation’s Source Analysis Score is also ‘Fair,’ which suggests readers should evaluate the sources, links, and quotes provided with a critical eye. Based on A.I., this score focuses on assessing the quality of sources and quotes used, including their number, lengths, uniqueness, and diversity. This underscores the importance of critical thinking in news consumption, making the reader feel the necessity of evaluating sources and quotes.
It’s crucial to remember that these scores are based on percentages and averages. This means that the trustworthiness of individual articles can vary depending on the context, author, and other factors. Our findings indicate that Liberty Nation’s reliability is factual, as they have retracted several stories in the past or had pieces that lacked concrete findings. This underscores the reader’s active role in determining the reliability of their news, highlighting the necessity for critical evaluation.
Let’s analyze the supporting data for Liberty Nation’s rankings and discuss what to look for when searching for trustworthy news sources.
Liberty Nation’s Accuracy and Reliability
While the publication ranks relatively low on reliability, it is essential to consider the writing and publishing processes of Liberty Nation News. According to their site, the publication provides open submissions from anyone with an article they may want published. Liberty Nation publishes submissions from guest writers every week. According to the requirements of submissions:
“You are solely responsible for the facts you present in your article. Please double check all sources and hyperlinks. Gossip, hearsay, and the like will not be accepted by the editors.”
Selection bias is when stories and facts are selected or deselected, often on ideological grounds, to create a narrative in support of the new sources’ ideology. Omission bias, on the other hand, is when different opinions and political views regarding a situation are left out so that the reader is only exposed to the ideological perspective supported by the author. It’s important to keep in mind these two types of biases when trying to assess an article’s level of accuracy.
Liberty Nation states that all facts presented by guest writers are the writers’ responsibility, and the publication is not obligated to fact-check them accordingly. This system allows us to understand the necessity of cross-referencing facts presented by Liberty Nation’s guest writers. Also, it will enable us to know why the publication’s general reliability ranks as it does.
For us to assess accuracy and reliability, it is essential to look at the choices of articles that Liberty Nation is publishing. A sure way of understanding the trustworthiness of a publication is by exploring its selection and omission bias. These refer to the stories writers choose to write and the facts writers may choose to omit.
While the bias rating previously mentioned is a critical reflection, its position in the middle ground of rating signals that a deeper look and understanding of specific articles is necessary; while it is informative to look at percentiles, nothing will showcase bias and reliability more than a look at the writings themselves. This sort of analysis works well in any publication. See Biasly’s analysis on Fox News. Biasly rates Fox News as a “Very Conservative” news publication. Reliability-wise, Fox News has Good reliability.
However, suppose one were to look at some of the articles analyzed. In that case, it becomes clear that these ratings are only applicable to some articles by Fox News. See Greg Gutfeld’s article published on the Fox News website titled Social Justice Could Get You Murdered. This Op-Ed piece is rated as a “Center” bias, implying it does not necessarily lean one way or the other; this is not reflective of the general bias rating given by Biasly.
Similarly, take a look at another article assessed by Biasly. Thomas Barrabi writes an informative piece titled, Biden fires Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul. Biasly rates this article with an Excellent accuracy rating, again a difference in the average rating.
The key idea is that a news outlet’s general or perceived bias doesn’t necessarily apply to each published piece. Hence, news consumers must investigate potential biases and inaccuracies while digesting news content.
Selection and Omission Bias
Let’s examine how Liberty Nation might incorporate selection and omission bias in their articles. Biasly categorizes Liberty Nation as “Moderately Conservative” and assigns it a moderate reliability and accuracy rating. The analysis of specific articles generally aligns with these rankings, although it can vary depending on the author.
Consider an article penned by James Fite, a writer for Liberty Nation, titled “Social Media Censorship Gets The White House Stamp of Approval.” The piece discusses the Biden administration’s stance on online misinformation and has a conservative leaning in its perspectives.
This conservative leaning is apparent in Fite’s text. His portrayal of the Biden administration carries a notable tone of disdain, and the language used about those affiliated with the administration is condescending. The administration’s approach to disseminating information regarding COVID-19 is one such subject of his commentary.
“These third-party distributors don’t simply expand the reach of the new arbiters of truth; they also act as a degree of separation, removing some of the stench of authoritarian propaganda from the information itself for many who trust these influencers more than the government.”
Regarding reliability, Biasly assigns this article a low Source Analysis Score. While Fite’s piece purports to tackle the issue of American censorship, it barely offers more than two quotes from a White House press conference. It lacks any supplementary research to substantiate his assertions about the Biden Administration’s actions on social media. This lack of information suggests Fite’s primary objective wasn’t to present a thorough, honest overview of social media censorship but instead to underscore a short segment to reaffirm his pre-existing notion that the liberal establishment operates like an autocratic despot, intent on depriving Americans of their First Amendment rights.
Quality and Sources of Facts Used
As seen in Fites’s article above, the quality of facts and sources within writers of Liberty Nation tend to follow a similar pattern throughout the publication. As done in Fites, many articles tend to include one or two isolated quotes and conclude without including any other information. Let’s look at another Liberty Nation article titled Does Vaccine Coercion Contravene the Nuremberg Code? Guest writer Pennel Bird wrote this article.
Bird’s article provides absolutely no source links throughout its entirety. Along with this, Bird recounts the life and history of famed Nazi Doctor Josef Mengele, riddled with bold statements and lacking in any sourced evidence. The author moves then to a complete list of the Nuremberg laws. Upon research, it is clear that he has chosen to reword the laws himself, perhaps for easy reading or to better match the points he will make later in the article.
Bird’s article not only lacks sources but also provides no quotations throughout the article. Bird references and questions events without background information, quotes, or sources to corroborate them. Bird asks:
“Does President Joe Biden urging Americans to ‘get the shot’ and then threatening to send emissaries door to door to ‘encourage’ it constitute coercion?”
Bird’s comparison of the administration’s stance on vaccination to laws enacted after the mass extermination of an ethnic group leads to some extreme conclusions. Such conclusions seem out-of-context and more of a rant against vaccination policies than reasoned arguments, making it hard to take them seriously. The following content will provide a more detailed assessment of these findings.
Analysis of Article Content:
- Sources Used: The article provides no references to support its assertions.
- Quotes Utilized: Only a paraphrased rendition of the Nuremberg Code’s 10 points, frequently alluded to by the author.
Analysis of Quotes:
- Length of Quotes: No direct quotes from additional sources, only the author’s own words and a paraphrased Nuremberg Code.
- Political Leaning: The article doesn’t explicitly declare a political stance. However, the claims and questions imply a conservative or right-leaning perspective, aligning with Liberty Nation’s usual editorial approach.
- Unique Sources: None.
- Diversity of Sources: None provided.
- Quality of Sources: Inapplicable, as no sources are cited.
- Accuracy of Facts:
- The rephrasing of the Nuremberg Code could distort its original meaning and intent.
- Assertions regarding vaccine safety and coercion are unsubstantiated and lack credible references or data.
- The author likens public health campaigns to coercion: a substantial allegation that lacks the necessary evidence, which the author fails to supply.
Bird’s article is an editorial that needs more source material support for its claims. It suggests a subjective interpretation of the Nuremberg Code and compares it to present-day public health policies without backing from solid data or peer-reviewed studies. The lack of sourcing and fact-checking links within the article weakens its reliability. Journalism must deliver well-researched information to support informed discourse, especially on sensitive matters like public health. This article falls short of the evidence-based journalism standards essential for a well-informed public and a robust democratic society.
Upon analyzing the articles by both Fite and Bird, it’s apparent that Liberty Nation writers often make many claims with scant evidence. In both instances, the conclusions portray the Biden Administration as possibly an authoritarian regime.
While such views might align with those of many American conservatives, it’s undoubtedly risky to stoke these fears and beliefs with such works. The absence of any legitimate dialogue or statistics in articles making such grand claims poses a threat not only to democracy but also to journalism.
Analysis of Liberty News Opinion Pieces
On the sort of dangers uninformed opinion pieces may pose, Dame Magazine’s Parker Molloy writes an article titled Opinion Journalism Is Broken. Molloy states:
“We live in a confusing world where fact and fiction blend together, and what should be sources of clarity—i.e. newspapers— may actually be functioning as sources of confusion, making them ripe for bad actors looking to exploit the aforementioned vulnerabilities in the system to push dubious information in service of a political agenda. This is, quite obviously, a problem on its own. If the goal of newspapers is to inform the public, yet they publish materials that mislead it, aren’t they undermining themselves?”
With all of this in mind, let’s look at the opinion pieces posted by Liberty Nation News. See Tim Donner’s piece, Was the Unity Promised by Joe Biden Just Sweet Nothings? Donner here offers his opinion on whether or not President Joe Biden has been successful in his goal of lessening tensions among the American people. Donner begins by stating:
“Unfortunately, Biden looks like he over-promised. Or maybe he was whispering sweet nothings in the American ear, only for voters to discover he’s a cad who never intended to make good on his pledge. Either way – a sobering reality has set in after the country tied the knot with career politician Biden. That unity he promised looks like just a mirage, which beckons with the promise of relief, shimmering in the heat, tantalizingly out of reach. But it is not real.”
Biasly rates this piece as moderately conservative. Donner’s opinion piece, in Liberty Nation fashion, neglects the use of quotes, statistics, etc. Instead, it focuses strictly on his emotional anecdotes and opinions and whether his views are correct. Donner continuously generalizes the American people and neglects the possibility of centrist American voters. These generalizations result in a lack of fact and reliability.
Is Liberty Nation News Reliable?
In conclusion, Liberty Nation seems to lack overall reliability. This finding aligns with Biasly’s ratings and my appraisal of their published articles. The inclination of Liberty Nation to prioritize emotional reaction over factual accuracy renders it somewhat unreliable, compelling readers to cross-verify any information they garner from it. The interplay between reliability and bias is evident, as the publication’s credibility appears to wane when they critique those of differing viewpoints. Applying critical reading skills when perusing Liberty Nation News is essential. To help with this, you can use Biasly’s News Bias Checker to uncover reliability problems and assist you in finding the most accurate and dependable news.