How to spot Shite Journalism: Weasel Words!
34 2017-09-28 by William_Harzia
Pursuant to a fruitless exchange with a putative pay-per-word drone the other day I thought I'd just post this Wiki article on Weasel Words.
Weasel words are the hallmark of fake news, lazy journalism, and/or disinformation. Say what you will about Wikipedia, this is a solid article that everyone on this sub should take to heart.
For fun, why not peruse this shite WaPo article and see if you can identify the number of times Weasel Words are employed.
I did a quick review and found eight glaring instances, and numerous others. Take note especially of the unidentified sources and the frequent use of the passive tense.
7 comments
1 xleb1 2017-09-28
I see a lot of the same smarmy journalism come from the global warming team.
Things that could happen if, something something something. 'Might change', 'studies show', 'experts agree', 'consensus of evidence', 'future possibility'. All very indefinite, but dire I tell you!
1 William_Harzia 2017-09-28
Oh fuck yeah.
1 MKULTRAserialkillers 2017-09-28
Great article. Isn't it interesting how the media attracts so many sociopaths? https://mic.com/articles/44423/10-professions-that-attract-the-most-sociopaths#.PxN38YdI9
1 MellowEpistle 2017-09-28
This is the sort of crap that made me glad I didn't waste a bachelor's degree in journalism. I hate it when they kind of clickbait headlines on paywall news websites.
"Suburb set to receive 10,000 new residents and locals are not happy". Can't they just title it properly and say "Dipshitville set to...."
1 cable54 2017-09-28
What is wrong with using those phrases in discussing climate change studies? What would you prefer were used?
1 William_Harzia 2017-09-28
The problem is that in journalism (and science for that matter) when you cite facts you're supposed to give references. If you feel like writing "Scientists around the world agree that climate change is a real." then you should rephrase it to "According to a 2001 study[1] 97% of PhD climatologists agree that climate change is real. " And of course include a reference to the survey that came up with the 97% figure in the footnotes below. That's how you build defensible arguments: cite a fact, then back it up with something verifiable. That way astute readers know you're not talking out your ass.
The whole point of weasel words is to use them to slip unverifiable statements of fact into arguments which make rhetorical sense, yet are, at their core, wholly indefensible. Most people don't notice them, and it's a big problem. Fake news, propaganda, and native advertising are based around them.
1 murphy212 2017-09-28
"Some people allege"
1 Space__Stuff 2017-09-28
Good post. Totally true.