14 votes

Do you live in a media bubble? Do you use Google News? I recommend using it signed-out at least 50% of the time

I recently started jumping around various browsers and machines. I sometimes keep instinctually going to Google News in all of these environments. I am often signed-out in these other browsers. This has been an eye-opening experience for me.

Many years ago I had blocked Fox, RT, and other crap out of my GNews feed. I was living in a bubble of my own making. I actually prefer that bubble, as there is more factual information in it, but it comes at a cost. I had lost a lot of my situational awareness of the political and media climate.

I am not trying to be centrist here, I just think that one should know the entire battlefield, not just the news given from their comfortable sources. For one thing, I had no idea of the dominance which Fox News had in Google News, also that RT was so prevalent, also that there was so many other sources of utter right-wing propaganda that had been normalized. How can I fight disinformation if I am unaware of its origins?

What do you think about this? Would you take me up on my challenge of reading the uncustomised news? Do you ever try to get out of your comfort zone in the news? Does it help inform you?

edit: Just FYI, to easily use Google News, or any other news site signed-out, first open a "private window" in your browser.

9 comments

  1. [2]
    stu2b50
    Link
    I don't know, I feel like this hinges on the idea that it's better to have news from Fox news, etc. in your feed. And if you're a political strategist, sure, that's a good idea, but most people...

    I don't know, I feel like this hinges on the idea that it's better to have news from Fox news, etc. in your feed. And if you're a political strategist, sure, that's a good idea, but most people aren't trying to "know the battlefield", they just want to know what's happening domestically and internationally.

    It's natural to have a few sources that you trust and whose punditry you like, and stick to those, because most people don't have hours to pour on different sources.

    I guess it's a little dangerous for there to be no option to you to turn their suggestion off, but it's a pretty natural fit for most users' needs.

    14 votes
    1. Greg
      Link Parent
      Even so, we're living in a time where people's beliefs about what happened have at least as much impact on the world as what actually happened. I think that's very unfortunate, but it's hard to...

      Even so, we're living in a time where people's beliefs about what happened have at least as much impact on the world as what actually happened. I think that's very unfortunate, but it's hard to deny that it's the case.

      Knowing what other people are seeing (and particularly what the prevailing "mainstream" message is) is part of knowing what's happening for me.

      4 votes
  2. determinism
    Link
    This is tangentially related in that it maintains the spirit of branching out for new media sources but the medium is different. I'm also not being charitable whatsoever in this account. My car...

    This is tangentially related in that it maintains the spirit of branching out for new media sources but the medium is different. I'm also not being charitable whatsoever in this account.

    My car has been in the shop lately so I was commuting in a rental. By chance, I tuned into a preset channel with a right-wing (probably Koch-funded) talk show and listened in out of morbid curiosity. It was astonishing. There was literally a PSA for being suspicious of strangers. It sounded like background dialogue from some sort of dystopian science fiction film. "Your busy day-to-day inevitably involves interacting with other humans, sometimes someone or something you see doesn't sit well, (yada yada) tell the police." The little callsign audio blip sounded like the announcer wanted to fuck the listener.

    The first thing they were discussing was "what is AOC?" - like, what ethnicity. The host qualified the discussion by mentioning that he doesn't see race. They followed up with the observation that "black people are not the ones getting offended by racism" and that it's "normally white people being offended on their behalf". Whereas the topic at hand regarded congressional women of color attempting to "impeach Donald Trump for racism". The last topic I heard them discussing before I turned it off was how to impeach congress.

    10 votes
  3. mrbig
    Link
    I use Feedly. It’s easy to customize my sources with it.

    I use Feedly. It’s easy to customize my sources with it.

    4 votes
  4. [5]
    DonQuixote
    Link
    I use apple news on my phone and have come to see how they're tailoring my feed, no surprise. They're getting very good at it, too. Which doesn't work for me because I like to jump around like you...

    I use apple news on my phone and have come to see how they're tailoring my feed, no surprise. They're getting very good at it, too. Which doesn't work for me because I like to jump around like you do. My experience is that the tailored feed gets me somewhat hooked and then gets very stale. If I were a programmer, I'd be throwing in a random mix a certain percentage of the time. Wondering now if Google News does this.

    3 votes
    1. [4]
      Neverland
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Part of the problem is that programmers are not making these decisions. So a Sales VP is making those choices for you. They are driving engagement, not information. Apple News is where Tim Cook's...

      If I were a programmer, I'd be throwing in a random mix a certain percentage of the time.

      Part of the problem is that programmers are not making these decisions.

      [Apple] News comes with a built-in advertising platform that helps you earn revenue from the content you publish to Apple News.
      https://developer.apple.com/news-publisher/

      So a Sales VP is making those choices for you. They are driving engagement, not information. Apple News is where Tim Cook's Apple jumped the shark for me a bit. He claims they are not an ad company, and yet look at that statement.

      BTW, I'm not saying that GNews is any better, it's just a bit more obfuscated. But at least you can view it signed-out. IMO, Apple News is the devil, in very sleek clothing. My daily driver is an iPhone, but f Apple News, I gave up when I couldn't block Fox News, which is quite ironic, I do realize.

      4 votes
      1. [3]
        DonQuixote
        Link Parent
        It's ok, I've dropped Apple News. Now when I get the urge (hardly ever now) I go directly to drudgereport.com and immediately balance it with huffingtonpost.com. LOL.

        It's ok, I've dropped Apple News. Now when I get the urge (hardly ever now) I go directly to drudgereport.com and immediately balance it with huffingtonpost.com. LOL.

        1. [2]
          Neverland
          Link Parent
          Haha, right on. But if you want to balance Drudge, maybe try Propublica, Media Matters, Voice of America, or NPR. Huffpost is trash IM liberal O :)

          Haha, right on. But if you want to balance Drudge, maybe try Propublica, Media Matters, Voice of America, or NPR. Huffpost is trash IM liberal O :)

          1 vote
          1. DonQuixote
            Link Parent
            NPR is a good choice. Where do you put BBC, if anywhere?

            NPR is a good choice. Where do you put BBC, if anywhere?

            2 votes