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Daily Archives: November 2, 2021

Should you trust media bias charts?

Poynter: “These controversial charts claim to show the political lean and credibility of news organizations. Here’s what you need to know about them…Impartial journalism is an impossible ideal. That is, at least, according to Julie Mastrine. “Unbiased news doesn’t exist. Everyone has a bias: everyday people and journalists. And that’s OK,” Mastrine said. But it’s not OK for news organizations to hide those biases, she said. “We can be manipulated into (a biased outlet’s) point of view and not able to evaluate it critically and objectively and understand where it’s coming from,” said Mastrine, marketing director for AllSides, a media literacy company focused on “freeing people from filter bubbles.” That’s why she created a media bias chart. As readers hurl claims of hidden bias towards outlets on all parts of the political spectrum, bias charts have emerged as a tool to reveal pernicious partiality. Charts that use transparent methodologies to score political bias — particularly the AllSides chart and another from news literacy company Ad Fontes Media — are increasing in popularity and spreading across the internet. According to CrowdTangle, a social media monitoring platform, the homepages for these two sites and the pages for their charts have been shared tens of thousands of times. But just because something is widely shared doesn’t mean it’s accurate. Are media bias charts reliable?…”

EWG’s Tap Water Database 2021 Update

Environmental Working Group – “If you’ve ever wondered what’s actually in your tap water, we have answers. Our Tap Water Database provides insight into pollutants in local water resources. Since 2013, water utilities’ testing has found pollutants in Americans’ tap water, according to an EWG drinking water quality analysis of more than 31 million state… Continue Reading

Employing My Law Librarian Skills on an Uncertain Road

Via LLRX – Employing My Law Librarian Skills on an Uncertain Road – As we all navigate through the era of Covid, it is critical to learn from the myriad other medical challenges that many Americans, as well as our professional colleagues, are facing separate from the pandemic. Taryn L. Rucinski, Supervisory Librarian, U.S. Court… Continue Reading

Introduction to Law Librarianship

Introduction to Law Librarianship 2021 – University of Georgia School of Law Digital Commons @ Georgia Law. Georg- Zanada Joyner, University of North Carolina School of Law; Cassandra Laskowski, University of Arixona; Heather Simmons, University of Georgia School of Law Library; Thomas J. Striepe, University of Georgia School of Law. Download complete text 388 pages… Continue Reading

Who are the TOxic Ten?

Center for Countering Digital Hate: How 10 fringe publishers fuel 69% of digital climate change denial (YouTube). “The Center for Countering Digital Hate is an international not-for-profit NGO that seeks to disrupt the architecture of online hate and misinformation. The Center has offices in London and Washington DC.” “(Mashable)…The Center for Countering Digital Hate, however, found that… Continue Reading

How Climate Change Is Changing The Coastline Of The Chesapeake Bay

BuzzFeedNews – “If the projections are right, then we’re already committed to a heartbreaking amount of loss, like a truly devastating amount of loss…How do you see the future? That is the vexing question that Michael O. Snyder, a scientist turned photographer, seeks to answer in his recent project, The Coming Coast. Snyder spent the… Continue Reading

Poison in the Air

ProPublica: “The EPA allows polluters to turn neighborhoods into “sacrifice zones” where residents breathe carcinogens. ProPublica reveals where these places are in a first-of-its-kind map and data analysis. rom the urban sprawl of Houston to the riverways of Virginia, air pollution from industrial plants is elevating the cancer risk of an estimated quarter of a… Continue Reading

The UN Could Finally Create New Rules for Space

Wired: “On Monday [November 1, 2021], a group of diplomats from the United Kingdom proposed that the United Nations set up a group to develop new norms of international behavior in space, with the aim of preventing the kinds of misunderstandings that could lead to war. As spacefaring nations advance their military satellite capabilities, including… Continue Reading