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Confirmation bias is basically gathering selective evidence or interpreting facts in a manner to support ones idea/ ideology/ argument, in a sense that reinforces ones belief and sometimes propagate certain agenda. On the contrary, unbiased research primarily investigates both side of literary argument, before they continue to investigate/ build on one side of argument for specific disclosed reasons.
What about bias related to choice of visuals or selection of
imagery specifically when linked with a piece or page of article/ text/ book/
news/ magazine/ post etc?
Visual that is doubtful or emotionally loaded or showing
amplified version of apparent ideological affiliation, sometimes being used to
support a text, may qualify for bias, but may not always be a case of
deliberate manipulative attempt or confirmation bias. It may also be due to one
of the following reasons or more, i.e., ignorance of writer, their
misjudgment, hasty accidental choice of image, lack of access of good and wide
choices of visual content due to reasons of copyrights or financial constraints
etc.
Whether accidental or due to obvious limitations or by
deliberate choice or conscious or unconscious confirmation bias, still we
encounter obvious countless text and visual bias everyday in the sensory
overdose of profession, social, and print media.
Challenge is multifaceted. There are also many urgent issues
in life and world which require attention of as many as possible to solve it,
which somehow also influences accentuated and loaded visual media choices made
by many individuals and agencies, on a day to day basis, specifically choosing
the image that has potential to garner urgent or due attention. Such cases are
obvious especially in area of popular media and some grey literature. Though
most manipulations are obvious to even most casual readers, still fact remains
that the flow of information is rapid hence the impact of selected image may
also be huge in many senses.
While it may be difficult to come to immediate conclusion,
one can only remain conscious of the fact of possible bias in collective impact
of text/ post/ article/ print media and supporting images; hence picking up the
information which may be relevant, contextual and possibly legit, while
discarding rest and even better to cross verify if time and motivation permits.
One may also apply a certain level of intelligence to decipher if meaning of
text is skewed, information presented is asymmetric, whether the image seems
representative and factual, or if there is another side of story not
represented in the given image, or consciously hidden, or image deliberately
distorted/ cropped. There may be merit in taking the digitally morphed, or
having unearthly attributes or psychologically intense, or agenda driven text
and images of different kinds, with a dash of caution.
Author: Anoop Jha
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