DeSantis is wrong about Black studies
In the latest salvo in his war on “wokeness,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced support for a statewide ban on a new Advanced Placement class on African American studies that will be officially unveiled this week at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. In defending the ban, DeSantis (R) and his allies at Florida’s Department of Education relied on a draft framework for the curriculum, and cherry-picked from roughly a hundred proposed topics to object to a handful of buzzwords, including “reparations” and “intersectionality,” as well as Black feminism and Black queer activism.
Eight Times Opinion columnists revisit their incorrect predictions and bad advice — and reflect on why they changed their minds.
In our age of hyperpartisanship and polarization, when social media echo chambers incentivize digging in and doubling down, it’s not easy to admit you got something wrong. But here at Times Opinion, we still hold on to the idea that good-faith intellectual debate is possible, that we should all be able to rethink our positions on issues, from the most serious to the most trivial. It’s not necessarily easy for Times Opinion columnists to engage in public self-reproach, but we hope that in doing so, they can be models of how valuable it can be to admit when you get things wrong.
Why America Doesn't Trust the CDC
People don't trust the CDC. Here's one example illustrating why. Two weeks ago, with no outcomes data on COVID-19 booster shots for 5-to-11-year-olds, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) vigorously recommended the booster for all 24 million American children in that age group. The CDC cited a small Pfizer study of 140 children that showed boosters elevated their antibody levels—an outcome known to be transitory.
Our favorite Washington Post op-eds of 2021
The Washington Post Opinions section published hundreds of op-eds from outside contributors this year, covering an enormous range of topics, from the coronavirus pandemic to the United States’ racial reckoning to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and beyond. Below, opinions staff members pick their favorite op-eds from 2021 and explain what made their choices stand out.
9 Logical Fallacies Used by Opinion Writers
Hayes Brown
Left
What does a “Left” media bias rating mean?
Sources with a Left AllSides Media Bias Rating™ display bias in ways that strongly align with liberal, progressive, or left-wing thought and/or policy agendas. Some of these sources may be considered "left-wing news."
A Left media bias rating from AllSides doesn't necessarily mean the source is extreme, wrong, not credible, or unreasonable, just as a Center rating doesn't necessarily mean the source is the most fair, credible, or reasonable. We encourage people to read outlets across the political spectrum to get multiple perspectives.
Outlets with a Left AllSides Media Bias Rating™ fall between and -6.00 to -3.00 on the AllSides Media Bias Meter™.
The numerical rating categories are as follows:
Left: -6.00 to -3.00
Lean Left: -2.99 to -1.00
Center: -0.99 to +0.99
Lean Right: +1.00 to +2.99
Right: +3.00 to +6.00
Sources with a Left media bias rating are most likely to show favor for:
- Generous government services (food stamps, social security, Medicare, student-loans, unemployment benefits, healthcare, education, etc.)
- A rejection of social and economic inequality
- A belief in systemic oppression and a need for the government to step in and rectify the wrongs it has committed
- Federal laws to protect consumers and the environment
- Federal laws against discrimination
- Federal laws protecting equal rights
- Tax increases on the wealthy
- Government regulation of corporations
- Keeping abortion legal and accessible
- A belief that some groups of people suffer disproportionately greater amounts in society due to identity characteristics, including race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion
- Decreasing military spending and intervention
- A belief in individualism and the protection of personal freedoms
- A belief in generous immigration policies
- A belief that the role of government is not just to protect rights, but to provide for its people and end suffering
- A belief that government should prevent wealth from concentrating in the hands of a few
- A belief that all humans have a right to healthcare, housing, clean water, a living wage
- A belief that all people deserve help when they have fallen on hard times
- An embrace of empathy, compassion, and tolerance as guiding values
- A belief in the importance of multiculturalism and representation of diverse cultures and races in media, positions of political power, and corporations
- Concerns about hate speech
- A belief in “live and let live,” i.e, that the government should not intervene just because someone is acting in ways someone else does not approve of, provided they have harmed no one else
- A belief that corporations, if left unregulated, may do harm to workers, society and the environment in the pursuit of profit
MSNBC Opinion Columnist
Farhad Manjoo
Lean Left
What does a “Lean Left” media bias rating mean?
Sources with a Lean Left AllSides Media Bias Rating™ display bias in ways that moderately align with liberal, progressive, or left-wing thought and/or policy agendas. A Lean Left bias is a moderately liberal rating on the political spectrum.
Outlets with a Lean Left AllSides Media Bias Rating™ fall between and -2.99 to -1.00 on the AllSides Media Bias Meter™.
The numerical rating categories are as follows:
Left: -6.00 to -3.00
Lean Left: -2.99 to -1.00
Center: -0.99 to +0.99
Lean Right: +1.00 to +2.99
Right: +3.00 to +6.00
Sources with a Lean Left rating may moderately show favor for at least some of the following:
- Government services (food stamps, social security, Medicare, student-loans, unemployment benefits, healthcare, education, etc.)
- Federal laws to protect consumers and the environment
- Federal laws protecting equal rights
- Tax increases on the wealthy
- Government regulation of corporations
- Keeping abortion legal and accessible
- A belief in identity politics, i.e., that some groups of people suffer disproportionately greater amounts in society due to identity characteristics, including race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion
- A belief in systemic oppression and a need for the government to step in and rectify the wrongs it has committed
- Decreasing military spending and intervention
- A belief that the role of government is to provide for its people, to end suffering and contribute to human prosperity
- A belief that government should prevent wealth from concentrating in the hands of a few
- A belief that all humans have a right to healthcare, housing, clean water, a living wage
- A belief that all people deserve help from the state when they have fallen on hard times
- An embrace of empathy, compassion, and tolerance as guiding values
- A belief in the importance of multiculturalism and representation of diverse cultures and races in media, positions of political power, and corporations
- A rejection of social and economic inequality
- Bans on hate speech, i.e., a belief that words can be violent
- A belief in “live and let live,” i.e, that the government should not intervene just because someone is acting in ways someone else does not approve of, provided they have harmed no one else
- A belief that corporations, if left unregulated, may do harm to workers, society and the environment in the pursuit of profit
WSJ Reporters Call Out Misinformation and ‘Disregard For Evidence’ From Paper’s Opinion Section in Scathing Letter
Hundreds of journalists from the Wall Street Journal signed a letter this week criticizing the paper’s opinion section for spreading misinformation.
The stunning rebuke, signed by 280 staffers of the Journal and sent to the paper’s new publisher, calls for better fact-checking, more transparency, and a clearer divide between news and opinion divisions, according to a draft of the letter obtained by Mediaite.
Over 280 Wall Street Journal employees raise credibility concerns about opinion page
More than 280 journalists, editors and other employees at The Wall Street Journal sent a letter to their publisher expressing concerns about misinformation in the paper's opinion section.
The letter says that “opinion’s lack of fact-checking and transparency, and its apparent disregard for evidence, undermine our readers’ trust and our ability to gain credibility with sources.”
WSJ Employees to Publisher: Opinion Page Spreads Misinformation
Hundreds of Wall Street Journal employees signed a letter to the paper's publisher that ripped the outlet's Opinion section standards and called for better fact-checking.
Mediaite obtained a copy of the letter, which argued that the Opinion section is spreading misinformation and lies that could be corrected with some simple research.