Helium’s news bias wheel is an easy, empirical measure of a news sources bias powered by an AI (no human input) to identify certain types of language over a large number of articles.
How It Works
Using zeroshot learning, Helium probabilistically classifies news according to the following:
Sensational
Do articles use emotionally charged language (trying to appeal to primitive emotions) instead of objective, descriptive reporting?
Prescriptive
Do articles use prescriptive language (trying to disguise opinions as facts) as opposed to descriptive, epistemically humble language?
Begging The Question
Do articles beg the question (selectively push a certain answer/narrative) as opposed to neutral, truth-seeking journalism?
Appeal to Authority
Do articles appeal to authority/institutions as opposed to reason, facts, logic, and primary sources?
Political
How often do sources publish about political topics? While articles about political topics aren’t bias per se, a higher proportion could indicate more politicization instead of factual reporting.
Subjective
Do articles use subjective, relativistic language as opposed to objective, balanced, fact-based language that acknowledges uncertainty/perspective?
Opinionated
Do articles use opinionated language, as opposed to informative/objective reporting?
Fearful
Do articles use fearful and potentially manipulative language, as opposed to neutral/other emotions?
Oversimplification
Do articles oversimplify nuance into reductionist categories as opposed to factful, context-specific language?
Gossip
Do articles gossip about people as opposed to report impersonal/objective information?