Another Reason Just to "Tune Out"

      Saying “it is a whole new world in ‘News Media’” has got to be a naïve under-statement.  This article explains why it is probably best just to turn off Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
https://www.wired.com/story/how-liberals-amped-up-a-parkland-shooting-conspiracy-theory/
      It is beyond comprehension how automated the whole matter of Fake News has become. Many people were naïve enough to assume the Russians were the bad actors, mostly. Not even close.
      It has been reported that 60% of Millennials get their news through social media and nothing else.  Now that has got to be scary.
      A good start is always to first check WIRED for media bias via
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/wired-magazine/
     (This checker can be found at http://mtskeptics.blogspot.com/2018/02/media-biasfact-check.html)
      The world of cyber criminality is now moving just too fast.  Is anyone who actually can make a difference paying attention?

CSI's Continued Climate Disgrace

      When in 2007 the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) later renaming itself as the Committee for Scientific Inquiry (CSI) proclaimed a policy of the organization that Global Warming was irrefutable and that humankind was primary cause, we assumed the data must be undeniable.  Nevertheless, even though supported nearly all of CSI's stands, we decided to do a little critical analysis and check the data.
     It was hardly irrefutable.  In fact, serious debate challenging this claim was underway led by some credible, highly-respected climatologists.  It seemed obvious that the premier skeptic organization should be the ideal platform on which to have a meaningful SCIENTIFIC investigation of the FACTS that were becoming government policy. 
      No way! In a completely disgraceful manner CSI only doubled down on its questionable position.
     We don't dispute global warming.  We don't dispute humankind's contribution to global warming.  We are disappointed in CSI abysmal failure to standby the principles of Scientific Inquiry, thereby severely discrediting its work on addressing other significant matters of pseudo-science.
     We had little influence on matters at CSI.  The only way we could protest this failure of the skeptical method and critical thought was to terminate our small financial support.
     Now a decade later CSI adds to its failure to be a credible skeptical organization by announced that Michael Mann had been elected as a 2017 Fellow of CSI. 
     Mann was the topic of the book "A Disgrace to His Profession."  He hardly stands with the likes of Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, B.F. Skinner, Philip J. Klass, Paul Kurtz, James Randi, Martin Gardner, and Ray Hyman. Mann only disgraces their legacy and their once skeptical mission.

Media Bias/Fact Check

      The website Media Bias/Fact Check (https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/) claims to be the most comprehensive media bias resource on the internet. With over 2200+ media sources currently listed in its database, it can help weed out the Fake News sources. Use the name or URL to search and check the bias of any source. 

      Founded in 2015 as an independent online media outlet, it is dedicated to educating the public on media bias and deceptive news practices.  It's aim is to inspire action and a rejection of overtly biased media and to return to an era of straight forward news reporting. 
Funded solely from site advertising, individual donors, and the pockets of its bias checkers, its collective of volunteers follow a strict methodology for determining the biases of sources. 

In its work Media Bias/Fact Check (MBFC) also provides occasional fact checks, original articles on media bias and breaking/important news stories, especially as it relates to USA politics.

      Unfortunately, when determining bias, no true scientific formula is 100% objective.  Whereas some objective measures can be calculated, some degree of subjective judgement is always present. 

      On each page MBFC has put up a scale with a yellow dot that shows the degree of bias for each source.  Each page also has a “Notes” section that gives some details about the source and an explanation of their bias.  When calculating bias MBFC is not just looking at political bias, but also 

• how factual the information is and 
• if they provide links to credible, verifiable sources. 

Each page encourages readers to vote on the bias of the source, thereby providing additional information to decide how trustworthy the source might be. This technique is similar to how movie sites such as IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes rate their movies.  
This voting poll also allows MBFC News to calibrate its rating methodology. When large discrepancy happen, MBFC says its team re-examines that source and after a thorough review adjusts its rating.