Plain English with Derek Thompson

The News Media’s Dangerous Addiction to ‘Fake Facts’

Jun 7, 2024

Jerusalem Demsas, a staff writer at The Atlantic and host of the podcast Good on Paper, dives into media biases that skew public perception. She discusses the alarming trend of negativity in news reporting, emphasizing that audiences share the blame for sensationalism. Demsas critiques misguided narratives around maternal mortality and highlights how misinformation impacts public trust, especially during crises like COVID-19. Her insights reveal the importance of critical evaluation of news, urging listeners to seek out grounded, factual discourse.

47:54

Episode guests

Jerusalem Demsas

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Quick takeaways

The most significant bias in news media is towards negativity and catastrophes, shaping public perceptions and trust.

Audience behavior influences news media bias, emphasizing negative stories over positives and shaping news presentation.

Deep dives

Negativity Bias in News Media

The most important bias in news media is a bias toward negativity and catastrophe. The news often focuses on negative aspects and catastrophes, which leads to intense institutional mistrust and bias against various sectors. This bias is not solely attributed to the news media but is also influenced by audience behavior, shaping what news is presented. Understanding this negativity bias is crucial in comprehending the current state of media and societal trust.

Importance of Fact-Finding for Addressing Issues

01:29

Embrace Care and Nuance in Communicating Complicated Truths

01:03

Negativity Bias and Media Influence on Trust

01:09

Being aware of media and audience biases

01:36

Intro

2min

Unraveling Maternal Mortality Myths

28min

Confronting the Challenge of Misinformation in Media

2min

The Consequences of Catastrophic Thinking During COVID

3min

Communicating Science in a Pandemic

11min

Understanding Media and Audience Bias Dynamics

3min

What do most people not understand about the news media? I would say two things. First: The most important bias in news media is not left or right. It’s a bias toward negativity and catastrophe. Second: That while it would be convenient to blame the news media exclusively for this bad-news bias, the truth is that the audience is just about equally to blame. The news has never had better tools for understanding exactly what gets people to click on stories. That means what people see in the news is more responsive than ever to aggregate audience behavior. If you hate the news, what you are hating is in part a collective reflection in the mirror. If you put these two facts together, you get something like this: The most important bias in the news media is the bias that news makers and news audiences share toward negativity and catastrophe. Jerusalem Demsas, a staff writer at The Atlantic and the host of the podcast Good on Paper, joins to discuss a prominent fake fact in the news — and the psychological and media forces that promote fake facts and catastrophic negativity in the press.

If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com.

Host: Derek Thompson

Guest: Jerusalem Demsas

Producer: Devon Baroldi

Links:

"The Maternal-Mortality Crisis That Didn’t Happen" by Jerusalem Demsas https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/05/no-more-women-arent-dying-in-childbirth/678486/

The 2001 paper "Bad Is Stronger Than Good" https://assets.csom.umn.edu/assets/71516.pdf

Derek on the complex science of masks and mask mandates https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2023/03/covid-lab-leak-mask-mandates-science-media-information/673263/

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