Perspective

A perspective is a viewpoint from which a person sees an event. You can determine a source's perspective by doing background research on the source creator, sponsor, host, etc. Different perspectives does not necessarily mean that one side is 'honest' and the other is 'lying'. It simply means there are different points of view.

A biased perspective implies that it unfairly prejudices the result in favor of one person or group. Bias is not always intentional or nefarious, sometimes it is just accidental or incidental. Remember, some biases are implicit and subconscious, so the author may not be aware of their own biases.

You can determine a source's bias in part by watching for specific words and phrases in the source that are sensational, either extremely positive or extremely negative. Sensationalist journalism is designed to cause an emotional reaction in the reader. It is often seen in headlines, where you may know it as “click bait.”

Example

For example, in 2022 CNN ran an article with the headline “Vegetarian and meat-eating children have similar growth and nutrition but not weight, study finds.” Health-conscious readers may be concerned at the title. However, despite noting that "vegetarian children were nearly twice as likely to be underweight," the article also says that "[t]here weren't any significant differences between vegetarian and non-vegetarian children regarding standard BMI, height, serum ferritin levels and vitamin D levels." If you didn't read the whole article, you would miss that weight is only one element in evaluating the health of a child.

Value of Varied Perspectives

Even while we watch for biased perspectives, we need to remember that listening to a variety of perspectives is valuable. A range of perspectives, differences of opinion, and disagreements can exist even within individual communities and fields of study. Sometimes the most valuable perspectives are missing or quiet. Look for varying perspectives and voices that may be marginalized or even absent from mainstream sources of authority so that you can consider the issue from multiple angles.

This is essential to enriching your knowledge, generating new ideas, and engaging critically and thoughtfully in the communities with whom you interact. Reading varying perspectives can also better prepare you to relate your ideas to or distinguish them from the ideas of others.