January 25, 2024

“Visiting the Most Important Company in the World”

Why Troubling News:

First, I noticed the title and the fact that it is on an opinion piece. This claim written into the title is something that should be subjective to each country, and not used as an overgeneralization pertaining to "all companies throughout the world." It is misleading. Sure, it can be seen as witty, but I don't think it adds to the piece well. The lead isn't too bad at explaining the claim in short. However, it''s a no brainer that this company isn't -actually- the most important company in the world, because world events could change in a second, and one cannot base a claim on something malleable that could change tomorrow. I would have liked to see a different title on this one.

January 24, 2024

Time Out reveals world’s best cities for 2024

Why Troubling News:

Such an article would, of course, be always subjective. "Factors including cities’ food scenes, architecture, and cultural happenings were taken into account." as the source mentions, is not enough to come up with the conclusion of the best cities. Similarly, 20,000 city dwellers is not a large enough sample for evaluation. Have they been in every single city in the world? Do they cover the preferences of all, or at least most of the population? Since everyone has different preferences, for such ratings (each of the item), there should be a reason for its position mentioned in the article, especially for the purpose, as the article mentions: "to provide “inspiration for travel” but also a “global snapshot of city living." Argumentation is missing. Why is Cape town, rated the second best although: “South Africa may be celebrating 30 years of democracy, but the inequality in cities like Cape Town is starker than ever,” as the author of the article emphasizes? Although seemingly an innocent article that only reveals ratings, it could lead to disappointment If seriously considered creditable.

January 22, 2024

The Law Alone Cannot Curb Donald Trump’s Lawlessness

Why Troubling News:

The diction in this piece is extremely one-sided, leaving no room for balanced reporting. The author uses the piece to defame former president Donald Trump without providing substantial details of the cases against him. This article is primarily an opinion piece disguised as being factual. There is also a lack of quotes and references to other reputable sources. The information provided would not be helpful if the reader had little knowledge of the trials beforehand.

January 19, 2024

Report: ‘Common’ for Chinese Police to Use Waterboarding, Extreme Torture in Routine Questioning

Why Troubling News:

Although the article uses number of citations from the politicians and victims of the crimes, it lacks further evidence. The language used in the article is way too strong so the author should try to be more neutral, with phrases and sentences such as 'Uyghurs who refused to swear fealty to dictator Xi Jinping and accept him as a “god.”' or 'Common’ for Chinese Police' are both very misleading as we don't know the whole story.

January 19, 2024

Trump looms over E. Jean Carroll defamation trial even in absence

Why Troubling News:

While the paragraph objectively details the events of E. Jean Carroll's defamation trial against Donald Trump, it subtly uses biased language favoring Carroll. Phrases like "looming presence," "admonished," and "continued to call fabrication" paint Trump in a negative light, while Carroll's side appears more neutral. Additionally, highlighting Trump's accusations against the judge and Carroll reinforces a negative image. For a more neutral approach, consider replacing language like "looming presence" with factual descriptions of his absence, replace "continued to call fabrication" with "reiterated his defense," and avoid highlighting only the most inflammatory parts of Trump's remarks. This would provide a more balanced perspective while still conveying the key information.

January 19, 2024

Trump looms over E. Jean Carroll defamation trial even in absence

Why Troubling News:

While the paragraph objectively details the events of E. Jean Carroll's defamation trial against Donald Trump, it subtly uses biased language favoring Carroll. Phrases like "looming presence," "admonished," and "continued to call fabrication" paint Trump in a negative light, while Carroll's side appears more neutral. Additionally, highlighting Trump's accusations against the judge and Carroll reinforces a negative image. For a more neutral approach, consider replacing language like "looming presence" with factual descriptions of his absence, replace "continued to call fabrication" with "reiterated his defense," and avoid highlighting only the most inflammatory parts of Trump's remarks. This would provide a more balanced perspective while still conveying the key information.

January 19, 2024

Has Biden bribed Mexico to control border – and help him win the election?

Why Troubling News:

This article puts forward a lot of theories that there is little detail to support. The author discusses how Biden and the President of Mexico have created a secret deal to lower immigration. Later in the article, the author writes about how the Mexican president is trying to help Biden win the election because he is better for the country than Trump. In the last paragraph, he writes that the leader of Mexico is likely to continue allowing immigrants to enter the US. These are alarming claims. The article implies that the AMLO and Biden are using corrupt tactics to ensure Biden's reelection. It is also alarming to blame a foreign leader for the current problems at our own southern border.

January 17, 2024

Tunnel found under a Jewish synagogue in New York

Why Troubling News:

While the posts and the articles that contained the misinformation are now virtually impossible to find, this article shows that earlier this week there were posts on social media that supported the idea that the tunnel was made in order to traffic children. It shows the power of social media when reposting stories that are not fact-checked, but also shows that news media outlets (or at least the most reputable ones) and big internet suppliers like google and social media platforms like Instagram, have already included tools to prevent the spread of these fake news.

January 14, 2024

Jeffrey Epstein List Names

Why Troubling News:

There is a lot of misinformation surrounding the Epstein case, particularly because people fail to research or read the case documents themselves. I think that a lot of people read lists such as the article provided and assume that every person who was associated with Epstein had the same level of involvement in the crimes he was committing.