Week 2: Focusing on framing and cognitive bias

1.What is framing bias?

Framing bias is framing the narrative in order to make your story more engaging.

2.What are some of the typical frames journalist use?

Conflict, consensus, reaction, exposing wrongdoing and straight news.

3.Why do they use them?

Journalists use these frames as they are proven to be what engage the reader most. They are what get the most likes and clicks as people are always willing to see other peoples downfalls.

4.Using the example of the death penalty story on Slide 8, come up with at least three different ways you could frame this story.

Conflict: There seems to be conflict between the general public and all major parties. Many could argue that the government isn't listening and that it's failing the country.

Reaction: 65% of people have a positive reaction to reintroducing the death penalty, what does that show us about society? What's next? The purge? Are we going back in time?

exposing wrongdoing: 'A number of families of victims of murder, rape and paedophilia offer their differing views on the result.' These families need justice and the death penalty is the way to see that justice through.

1.What is confirmation bias? Give examples!

Confirmation bias is a type of cognitive bias that involves favouring and seeking out information that supports one position or idea. For example, people tend to seek information that paints the political party they support in a positive light, while dismissing any information that paints them in a negative light.

2.Why might social media tend to make our confirmation biases worse?

Social media is full of false or twisted information, some people tend to read information without fact checking resulting in them thinking it's true. This can result in an individual sharing information or arguing a point that is incorrect. It only takes one second to press 'share' and before you know it millions upon millions of people will have read it.

3.What can we do to try and avoid confirmation bias having too much influence on the way we see the world?

We can all fact check resulting in only correct information being shared. We can stop twisting narratives and lay out the facts, we need to stop just seeing what we want to see and actually look at the hard evidence.