Confirmation bias in journalism: What it is and strategies to avoid it

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In journalism, confirmation bias can influence a reporter’s assessment of whether a story is worth pitching and an editor’s decision to greenlight a story pitch. If the pitch is accepted, it can determine the questions the reporter decides to ask — or declines to ask — while investigating the story. It can affect an editor’s choice to assign certain stories to one reporter versus another. And it can leave journalists susceptible to deliberate misinformation campaigns.

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