NewsGuard, the self-appointed arbiter of media reliability, appears poised to peddle some more of its own misinformationthis time about George Washington University Law School Professor Jonathan Turley. <\/p>\n
Turley exposed NewsGuards apparent plans in a Saturday column for The Hill. In The Most Chilling Words Today: Im from NewsGuard and I Am Here to Rate You, the chaired professor of law detailed a recent communication he received from the ratings giant. Roughly a week after he had penned an earlier column for The Hill in which he criticized NewsGuard as infected with a pro-Democrat and left-wing bias, the for-profit organization came knocking, Turley explained. <\/p>\n
NewGuard had decided to now review Res Ipsa, the blog the law professor hosts at jonathanturley.org, Turley explained. That alone is curious, because many of the articles posted at Res Ipsa have been published by other NewsGuard-rated outlets, such as The Hill and the Wall Street Journal. Beyond that fact and the suspicious timing of NewsGuards decision to evaluate the law professors writings, the questions posed were bizarre, as Turley explained. <\/p>\n
For instance, why would he call his blog Res Ipsa Liquitur [sic] the thing itself speaks. Could you explain the reason to this non-lawyer? Res ipsa loquitur is defined in the header as The thing itself speaks, which I think speaks for itself, Turley quipped. <\/p>\n
While one might laugh off that ridiculous, typo-infused question, NewsGuards outreach to Turley included a much more concerning and, as the law professor stressed, illuminating inquiry. <\/p>\n
I cannot find any information on the site that would signal to readers that the sites content reflects a conservative or libertarian perspective, as is evident in your articles.Why is this perspective not disclosed to give readers a sense of the sites point of view? The NewsGuard reviewer queried Professor Turley. <\/p>\n
As he noted in his The Hill op-ed on Saturday, Turley has historically been criticized as a liberal, conservative or a libertarian depending on the particular op-eds. I certainly admit to libertarian viewpoints, Turley continued, though I hold many traditional liberal views. For example, I have been outspoken for decades in favor same-sex marriage, environmental protection, free speech and other individual rights. I am a registered Democrat who has defended reporters, activists and academics on the left for years in both courts and columns. <\/p>\n
Turley further stressed that his blog has thousands of postings that cut across the ideological spectrum. He has criticized Trump in the past, the George Washington University law professor added, while also refusing to suspend [his] legal judgment when cases touch on the interests of conservatives or Donald Trump. Its another indication NewsGuard deigns itself not only the arbiter of truth, but also of a law professors political or policy-oriented views. <\/p>\n
NewsGuards efforts to categorize Turleys diverse ideological views as conservative or libertarianand then to expect him to inaccurately label himself for his readersperfectly illustrates a structural deficiency in NewsGuards business model: NewsGuard relies on employees and a Board of Advisors hailing from the so-called mainstream media. NewsGuards Board of Advisors, which serves as subject-matter experts for the for-profit enterprise, is also heavily stacked with former government officials. <\/p>\n
Together, then, those conducting or assisting in NewsGuards reviews of new media outlets bring an establishment perspective and a siloed knowledge base to their work, leaving them particularly ill-suited to judging the reliability of the alternative press. That fundamental flaw supplants any claimed effort by NewsGuard to operate apolitically and without bias. <\/p>\n
There is an even more fundamental problem with NewsGuards self-proclaimed unbiased ratings. It flows from the secretive methodology it uses to select articles for review. Here, another recent outreach by NewsGuard illustrates the deficiencyand this one appears purposeful. <\/p>\n
Last week, NewsGuard contacted The Federalists CEO Sean Davis to inquire about Daviss post on X that followed President Joe Bidens sight-unseen announcement on the social media platform that he would not run for re-election. Do we have any evidence Biden is even alive right now? Davis queried. <\/p>\n
I just wanted to ask on what basis he made the aforementioned comment, a News Verification Reporter for NewsGuard noted, seeking clarity\/context for the post. <\/p>\n
Now why would NewsGuard select Daviss post among the millions made every day on X? Did NewsGuard make similar inquiries to other outlets that, rather than posing questions about the then-still unseen president, pushed Democrat talking points about former President Donald Trump? <\/p>\n
For instance, did NewsGuard ask Reuters about its Sunday post on X of an out-of-context comment Trump made during a rally that in four years, you dont have to vote again? While saying it wasnt clear what Donald Trump meant by his remarks, Reuters nonetheless framed the quote as support for Democrats accusation that Trump was a threat to democracy. <\/p>\n
Did NewsGuard ask Reuters what it meant by its post? Is NewsGuard analyzing all the outlets that misrepresented Trumps comments as evidence of dictatorial tendencies, as opposed to an entreaty for low-propensity voters to drag themselves to the polls this one time? What about outlets like Newsweek, which reported Donald Trump might not have been shot after all? Were they on the receiving end of NewsGuards inquisitorial emails? If not, why not? <\/p>\n
For all its claims of transparency, NewsGuard has refused to explain how it decides how many articles to assess per outlet, or its process for deciding which content to review. The lack of a random and proportionate survey of the media allows NewsGuard to manipulate its ratings. <\/p>\n
Want to ensure The Washington Post or The New York Times receive favorable ratings? Avoid reviewing their articles about the Russia collusion hoax or Covid-19. NewsGuard can continue to guarantee favored outlets retain top reliability ratings by also ignoring the false and misleading coverage of the assassination attempt of Trump, which was framed at first as a fall by many outlets NewsGuard rates as reliable. <\/p>\n
Without transparency concerning how and why NewsGuard selects posts or articles for review, as well as information about the relative quantity of materials assessed by outlet, NewsGuards ratings lack all credibility and are best branded GIGOgarbage in, garbage out. <\/p>\n
Margot Cleveland is an investigative journalist and legal analyst and serves as The Federalists senior legal correspondent. Margots work has been published at The Wall Street Journal, The American Spectator, the New Criterion, National Review Online, Townhall.com, the Daily Signal, USA Today, and the Detroit Free Press. She is also a regular guest on nationally syndicated radio programs and on Fox News, Fox Business, and Newsmax. Cleveland is a lawyer and a graduate of the Notre Dame Law School, where she earned the Hoynes Prizethe law schools highest honor. She later served for nearly 25 years as a permanent law clerk for a federal appellate judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Cleveland is a former full-time university faculty member and now teaches as an adjunct from time to time. Cleveland is also of counsel for the New Civil Liberties Alliance. Cleveland is on Twitter at @ProfMJCleveland where you can read more about her greatest accomplishmentsher dear husband and dear son. The views expressed here are those of Cleveland in her private capacity. <\/p>\n
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Targeting Law Professor Turley Again Proves NewsGuard Is A Powerful Scam - The Federalist<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NewsGuard, the self-appointed arbiter of media reliability, appears poised to peddle some more of its own misinformationthis time about George Washington University Law School Professor Jonathan Turley. Turley exposed NewsGuards apparent plans in a Saturday column for The Hill Continue reading