Staff Reports
Proposal for ‘News Source Trustworthiness Ratings’ Raises Concerns
A recent proposal in a Stanford University journal for a “news source trustworthiness ratings” system has raised eyebrows and concerns among conservatives. The idea behind this system is to eliminate the need for fact-checkers by assigning trustworthiness ratings to news sources. While some may argue that fact-checkers are unnecessary and potentially dangerous, this proposal takes it to a whole new level.
Gordon Pennycook, the co-author of the proposal, claims that trustworthiness ratings have a psychological impact and can be implemented in different ways. But let’s be honest, if this system were to be implemented, it would be nothing short of mind control. The fact that Pennycook feels the need to deny this just shows how Orwellian the whole concept is. We might as well be talking about the Chinese Communist Party or Vladimir Putin-controlled news agencies here.
Meanwhile, Mike Benz, a former State Department official, calls the Stanford proposal deliberately fraudulent. He argues that assigning a “scarlet letter” to disfavored news sources is just a way for social media platforms to create the appearance of fact-checking while actually engaging in censorship. And who gets to decide what’s “disfavored” and what’s not? These are troubling questions in a free society, and it’s clear that the left is trying to exert more control over the narrative.
The proposal also praises the work of fact-checkers without acknowledging their flawed track record. Many COVID claims that were labeled as misinformation by fact-checkers turned out to be true. And let’s not forget Snopes, the self-proclaimed fact-checker that falsely flagged satire and had to retract multiple articles due to plagiarism. If fact-checkers can’t be trusted, why should we trust a system that assigns trustworthiness ratings?
All in all, this proposal for “news source trustworthiness ratings” is a dangerous step towards censorship and control. The left already has a history of suppressing information that goes against their narrative, and this system would give them even more power to do so. It’s important for conservatives to stand up against such attempts to control the flow of information and protect our freedom of speech.
