Justin McBrayerMar 295 minWhen You Won't Change Your MindHumans are tribal thinkers. Our minds aren't wired to get to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. That's not to say...
Justin McBrayerJan 74 minInternet + Group Polarization = Social DisfunctionOn the one year anniversary of the Capitol riots in Washington, DC, there are lots of armchair analysts offering explanations for how...
Justin McBrayerNov 15, 20213 minClickbait 101: How to Frame for EffectNews organizations are in the business of making money. And making money requires having an audience. That means everyone in the news...
Justin McBrayerApr 19, 20215 minSocial Media Censorship FalloutLast fall, I noted that Facebook took the unprecedented step of censoring certain sorts of content on their site. Posts making false...
Justin McBrayerFeb 23, 20216 minThe Theoretical Case for Liberal Bias in the NewsEvidence for empirical claims comes in two sorts: data about a particular case and data for a general pattern. For example, suppose I...
Justin McBrayerJan 28, 20214 minHow Left-Leaning Framing can Bias the NewsNearly everyone concedes that many corporate news organizations are biased towards the political left. It’s beyond argument that places...
Justin McBrayerJan 21, 20212 minThe Capitol Riot wasn't a Violence Problem. It was a Fake News Problem.For the last two weeks, Americans have been wrestling with the implications of the mob attack on the Capitol that left several dead. ...
Justin McBrayerDec 22, 20205 minWhy Fact-Checking Fails[note: this is an expanded version of an article that originally appeared in the Durango Herald on 12/21/20] We face a fake news epidemic...
Justin McBrayerNov 18, 20203 minBig Questions, Little Questions, and Stolen ElectionsIt's going on week three after the 2020 election, and still the incumbent president has not conceded the race. The putative reason for...
Justin McBrayerOct 27, 20204 minSocial Media CensorshipLast week, Facebook announced that it would be banning any content that denies or distorts the Holocaust from its platform. Doing so...
Justin McBrayerOct 20, 20205 minAgainst OffenseA surprising amount of space on social media and the daily news cycle concerns offense. Many of us are quick to point out when we are...