PSA: Vetting Your Sources.

I really don't like that I feel the need to post this. Let me start with some base statements:

The internet is awesome. Never before in human history has the average person been able to access and publish so much information. They can look up almost anything. They can submit almost anything.

Bias is bad. Bias is effectively the act of taking a collection of facts and aligning them into a narrative to support a worldview. If the goal is to discern facts and objectify reality, then bias gets in the way.

Everyone inherently has bias. The scientific method helps us identify and sterilize that bias as much as possible.

I was lucky. I grew up with the internet. I have memories browsing eBay with my parents looking for the best deals on LEGOs and K'nex toys with the comically slow and loud dial-up service. Facebook was but a tiny fetus and smartphones weren't the norm.

As a result, I know my way around the internet pretty well. I may not have an intimate understanding of networking, web design, or search algorithms, but I can tell when something smells funny and I know how to follow through with my suspicions. I know how to narrow my searches on Google and to take a website that looks straight out of the GeoCities era with a grain of salt.

I was learning how to vet my internet sources as early as elementary school. I know to look for organizations with an agenda and to understand that they likely only have one side of the story. I know to be wary of publications that claim to have the complete story or give you the 5 secrets doctors don't want you to know about weight loss.

It's really not all that difficult, and I urge people here to do their due diligence when examining a source; be it a news story or a blog post. Keep in mind that as important as it is to be wary of sources that contradict your worldview, it is perhaps even more important to be critical of sources that affirm your worldview. Our goal should be to be informed, not affirmed.