by Joelle Steele
Distinguishing facts from opinions or lies can be very difficult at times. Your own personal biases can easily lead you to believe an opinion or lie over the facts. That’s because most people believe what they hear from sources they consider to be highly credible, such as friends, employers, church leaders, and politicians. But a fact is a fact, and everything else is not. How do you get to the truth, to the real facts?
Facts can be proven with hard evidence such as multiple scientific studies, courtroom documents, a politician’s voting records, etc. Experts are qualified to express opinions based on facts. Non-experts can express opinions too, but they will not be as credible. As for lies, it is easy for anyone to fabricate a story and make it sound like a fact. And many people who should know better can spin some real whoppers that lead people to believe things that are completely untrue, often ridiculous, and sometimes downright dangerous.
How can you tell the difference? It’s difficult. But, if you use your critical thinking skills, you should be able to do sufficient research into a subject to find out whether or not it’s true. And always remember that it’s not just the possible lie or opinion that you want to investigate. You also have to research the person who is telling the story you want to verify. Many people in the world today are highly skilled liars. They can tell you a lie without batting an eye. And they can seem highly credible. But the only thing they are often really good at is telling you what you want to hear, right or wrong, real or pure fiction. Find out what their track record is for bending the truth before you buy into their rhetoric.
Today, the media is often blamed for spreading lies, but this in itself is pretty much untrue. Yes, there are some yellow journalists out there who present little legitimate news and instead emphasize sensationalist headlines. They are found at the checkout stand in the grocery store and they are all over the Internet. But, when it comes to the majority of newspapers, magazines, and evening news shows, honest, investigative journalism is of the utmost importance. Journalists are taught from Day One to seek out the truth, no matter how hard it is to uncover or to hear, and to present it in its most concrete and unbiased way. That’s what investigative journalism is all about.
One of the best ways to get legitimate news stories is to read or listen to well-respected reporters on news shows at major networks such as ABC, NBC, or CBS, and also NPR (National Public Radio). In print, rely on newspapers and magazines such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, San Francisco Chronicle, Time, and Newsweek. What to avoid? News commentary shows such as those found on CNN and Fox News. Commentary is not news. It’s a bit of news followed by nothing more than opinions, and while many people on these kinds of shows are experts, some are just expert liars pushing their own agendas. If you listen to them at all, listen critically and question everything they say.
If you can’t distinguish a fact from an opinion or lie, never spread the word. Sharing via social media is one of the surest ways to be complicit in the spread of lies and other misinformation (false or inaccurate information) or disinformation (deliberate and often malicious misinformation). Seek out the truth. Tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It’s the right thing to do.
