Try to find a news source that just gives you the facts, instead of trying to sway your opinion in every story. You can find some on the local level, but national news sources that care about objective reporting are rare. You only have a choice between sites with “left-wing” and “right-wing” agendas. The result is that people don’t trust the news they get. They especially notice when people they like are hit with distortion and selective criticism. They’re likely to turn to sources whose biases match theirs, even if they’re less trustworthy than the mainstream ones.

This is a big factor behind Trumpism. A site which bashes him day in and out, pulling quotes out of context and picking on minor things, is less convincing than one which presents the facts and lets people draw their conclusions. When they repeatedly note that Trump has failed to back up a claim with evidence, yet never do the same with Democrats who do the same, people dismiss the stories as hit pieces. I just came across a CNN top headline: “Trump’s wild and lewd rhetoric reaches a new extreme.” I try to keep myself informed, I know Trump is horrible, and I don’t want to read that article. Do they really think anyone inclined even a little favorably to Trump is going to think, “This article may contain important facts. I should read it.”?

Not that the news sites on the right are any better. I went to the New York Post site, expecting that I could use whatever I found as an example, and I was right. The top headline at the moment is “DOOMSDAY FOR DEMS / Dems are so fearful they’re now in the Trump-is-worse-than-Hitler stage as election day nears.” For good measure, the Post has a horoscope every day on its home page. Maybe the editors think the stars are right for Trump.

Distrust of articles like those is rational. A piece that shows intense dislike of its subject is less trustworthy than one that presents the facts at face value, even if the dislike is justified. But where does that leave us if we want news we can trust?

Journalistic codes still say facts and impartiality are important. The SPJ Code of Ethics says journalists should “label advocacy and commentary,” “never deliberately distort facts or context,” and “avoid pandering to lurid curiosity.” In practice, the big news sites regularly ignore these standards.

With most news being loaded with bias, people give up on finding the facts and believe what they want to believe.