I’ve written a couple of opinion posts describing my disappointment with biased news sources. Today I clicked on an ad in my 1440 Daily Digest for a news site called Tangle. I loved my first read. Here’s why.
Background
I have been trying to find less-biased news sources. I’m skeptical of what I read and I like to fact check the info on multiple sites. The latest 2 sided political football that I’ve been looking into is the Trump Arlington National fiasco.
Arlington
The left is outraged at Trump’s latest stunt. CNN, MSNBC, NPR, Bloomberg and others provide a view of Trump’s disrespect for the military and his opportunistic approach to use a solemn moment for political gain.
Fox News, the New York Post and other right leaning journalists cover the fact that Trump was invited by the families of fallen soldiers and that he showed up while Biden and Harris have ignored invitations. The right also focuses on these soldiers having fallen due to the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, orchestrated by the Biden administration.
Who’s Right?
This facts are crystal clear. And the facts don’t lie. If you are on the left. This episode was a disgrace and a slap in the face to American soldiers and their families. There is no excuse for what ocurred.
If you are on the right, the facts are equally clear. The flawed Afghanistan withdrawal caused unnecessary casualties, including the 13 soldiers being honored in Arlington Cemetery. Harris and Biden have not acknowledged the families and did not respond to an invitation to attend services. Trump did.
Hmmm.
2 very different stories. And since Fox News readers/watchers don’t read NPR, and vice versa, Most Americans have 1 partial set of facts that support their beliefs and stoke their anger.
Facts
Amongst the opinion and vitriol, there are facts in both sets of stories.
- Pictures were taken where pictures aren’t allowed.
- There was an altercation (not sure if it was physical or verbal), between someone in the Trump group at Arlington and an Arlington staffer.
- According to the families, Trump was invited and accepted while Biden and Harris were invited and did not respond
- The Afghanistan withdrawal causeg casualties.
- The families of some soldiers in Arlington have spoken up in support of Trump.
Vitriol
Many media outlets have woven a carefully chosen set of facts into a narrative that supports their cause. These articles, stories and posts have created anger and outrage, just look at some of the comments on these stories online.
Tangle
So, all of this doesn’t sound like it leads to a great day in the news. Sounds like another partisan train wreck.
I was thrilled to read:
on Tangle today.
Similar to Allsides, the author, Isaac Saul, provides the background and the controversy. He then tells us what the left is saying with some verbatims from The Guardian, Bloomberg, and MSNBC. He then provides a right perspective from the NY Post, PJ Media, and The Dispatch. Finally, there is a My Take section.
My Take
Here’s my take (Brian’s) on his (Isaac’s) My Take section. In a word, refreshing.
Here are the highlights:
I love that it is clear what is fact and what is opinion. As usual, fact is a little murky because the info in the quotes from the various news sources cannot all be attributed as fact, but the fact that Isaac is trying to convey is the verbatim from the various news sources. He tells us exactly what the sources have written. It is a fact that they wrote that. Whether the info is factual or not is up to us to decide.
I also love that he can say “we should be able to critique both Biden’s withdrawal and Trump’s team’s behavior.” Gasp! Imagine that. A journalist doing both? Can it be done?
Wrap-Up
This is the first Tangle article I’ve read. I have to say I am quite impressed. The perspective seems to be harsh and critical to both sides but fair. And this is exactly what I want to see from a journalist.
Check it out and let us know what you think.