The Effect of News Media Bias on Factual Perception
School Name
Heathwood Hall Episcopal School
Grade Level
11th Grade
Presentation Topic
Sociology
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Abstract
The purpose of this project is to determine the effect of news media bias on factual perception. The hypothesis of this experiment is that the conservative media outlet will be more reliable than the liberal media outlet. The null hypothesis of this experiment is that the liberal media outlet will be more reliable than the conservative media outlet. First, the experimenter created a list of actual facts that have been notoriously misreported. Then a test was created on these facts, that also asks what news sources people follow. Through this test, the experiments measured how news sources bias people towards fake facts. Then, a statistical analysis was performed of score vs news sources followed, followed by scoring different news sources based on how factual vs how biased they are, and the direction in which they are biased. Finally, the experimenter used this measure to figure out the least biased news sources, and correct balance of news sources to follow. The data shows that the moderate outlet (control group) was the best option, but the conservative outlet scored better than the liberal. The experiment concluded that with more data there could be significance, but the small sample size precluded statistical significance.
Recommended Citation
Clarke, Van, "The Effect of News Media Bias on Factual Perception" (2020). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 232.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2020/all/232
Location
Furman Hall 209
Start Date
3-28-2020 10:45 AM
Presentation Format
Oral Only
Group Project
No
The Effect of News Media Bias on Factual Perception
Furman Hall 209
The purpose of this project is to determine the effect of news media bias on factual perception. The hypothesis of this experiment is that the conservative media outlet will be more reliable than the liberal media outlet. The null hypothesis of this experiment is that the liberal media outlet will be more reliable than the conservative media outlet. First, the experimenter created a list of actual facts that have been notoriously misreported. Then a test was created on these facts, that also asks what news sources people follow. Through this test, the experiments measured how news sources bias people towards fake facts. Then, a statistical analysis was performed of score vs news sources followed, followed by scoring different news sources based on how factual vs how biased they are, and the direction in which they are biased. Finally, the experimenter used this measure to figure out the least biased news sources, and correct balance of news sources to follow. The data shows that the moderate outlet (control group) was the best option, but the conservative outlet scored better than the liberal. The experiment concluded that with more data there could be significance, but the small sample size precluded statistical significance.
