Make Sense News Australia: 23 October-29 October 2020
Contents
23 October 2020 - 29 October 2020
How We Choose
We’ve selected for you the most engaging news (tweets) from Australian news agencies.
How did we understand them being the most engaging? That’s simple. Those that have comments with logical fallacies of a particular kind. For example, if a comment contains Ad Hominem, we consider this tweet a bit triggering, or if it contains False Dilemma, then it’s probably Food for Thought. You see the idea.
So with these criteria in mind, we selected a tweet which has replies with the highest percentage of detections irrespective of type and a piece of news for each group:
For each piece of news we give some examples of logical fallacies we found in the comments.
If you’d like to receive these reviews when they are ready, please follow us on Twitter: @makesensenews1. For more details on the online fallacy detector, please see Automatic Logical Fallacy Detection.
Critical Concentration
The response contains approximately 23% of comments that look a lot like fallacious reasoning of any type our detector can recognise. Spread between reasoning type groups:
The current COVID-19 state in Victoria is much better; new daily cases are single-digit. Restrictions are easing, and some people appreciate this; some request to hold responsible to an account.
Despite the lengthy lockdown and costly second wave, Daniel Andrews still has the majority of Victorian voters on side. @andrew_lund #COVID19Vic #9News pic.twitter.com/aFgl14frjv
— 9News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) October 26, 2020
Examples of logical fallacies from responses:
You idiots online polls have zero credibility! Bit like our msm.
Who do they ask !! Certainly no one that has had their lives destroyed by Dan
Triggering News
Inspiring Ad Hominem and Name Calling.
In this reference to the person, name-calling, and identity politics trigger group during last week, the most prominent tweet was
“Queensland Liberal National Party leader Deb Frecklington finds suggestions her youth curfew plan is racist ‘deeply offensive’…”
The response contains approximately 39% of comments that look a lot like fallacious reasoning. The spread of those between argument type groups:
The topic of discussion:
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The LNP promises to trial a night curfew for teenagers in Townsville and Cairns if it’s elected to state government. The aim is to reduce crime. The teens still out after curfew will be arrested by police and taken to community centres.
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Opposing argument - in those areas there is high percent of Indiginous population and they call such plan a racist.
Queensland Liberal National Party leader Deb Frecklington finds suggestions her youth curfew plan is racist "deeply offensive", saying she represents an Indigenous community and her husband works with Indigenous people. https://t.co/pSs8Pc80Ou
— SBS News (@SBSNews) October 23, 2020
Examples of Argumentum ad Hominem and Argumentum ad Personam from the comments
What an ignorant patronising woman
“I can’t be racist because I know some black people!” says the unqualified moron
Sounds like an awful lot of left wingers think only indigenous kids commit crimes in North Queensland. Her policy never mentioned race.
Food for Thoughts
Inspiring in comments something that looks really like
- Reduction to Absurd
- Appeal to Ignorance
- Conspiracy Theory
- Fallacy of Composition or
- False Dilemma.
I this smart argument category last week, the most worth reading tweet was
“Prominent law firm Minter Ellison and in-house lawyers at @VicGovDHHS have been referred to the legal watchdog over the failure to produce crucial emails to hotel quarantine inquiry”
The response contains approximately 11% of comments that look a lot like fallacious reasoning. The distribution between types of reasoning:
The hotel quarantine program was not seen as a success. Its failure is often considered to be the cause of the second wave of COVID-19 in Victoria. There is ongoing investigation and inquiry about why it was organised that way.
Prominent law firm Minter Ellison and in-house lawyers at @VicGovDHHS have been referred to the legal watchdog over the failure to produce crucial emails to hotel quarantine inquiry | EXCLUSIVE https://t.co/q0abwIiBkq#covid19 #coronavirus #hotelinquiry #springst
— The Age (@theage) October 22, 2020
The example of Reduction to Absurd fallacy from the comments:
Thousands of emails. One email missed. Overkill
Appeal to Emotions
Inspiring in comments something that looks really like Appeal to Emotion.
In this Emotional Appeal category last week, the most worth reading tweet was
“Let’s run through some emotions because this is Victoria today: angry, frustrated, confused, disappointed, and suspicious …”
The response contains approximately 20% of comments that look a lot like fallacious reasoning.
The spread shows high emotional content. That’s very expected; the original article actually inspires it.
#OPINION: Let's run through some emotions, because this is Victoria today: angry, frustrated, confused, disappointed, and suspicious, writes @3AWNeilMitchell. #9News https://t.co/X8h9aySef3
— 9News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) October 25, 2020
Examples Appeal to Emotions:
For god’s sake Neill, we are close to snapping because of irresponsible journalists and media NOT encouraging people to stay this path. You add to this misery as I never have once heard your encouragement of us , or encourage initiative or ways to cope. You just add fuel to the fire
Unlike most DanStans, I am a Victorian, and I live in Melbourne. I am angry and frustrated at DictatorDan for his failures and stupid policies.
Team and Status Quo
Inspiring readers for some arguments that look like contain these logical fallacies
- Bandwagon Fallacy
- Hasty Generalization
- Appeal to Common practice (tradition)
- Appeal to Authority or
- Slippery Slope.
In this class last week, the most prominent piece of news was
“The Wallabies could become the first Australian national team…”
The response contains approximately 21% of comments that look a lot like logical fallacies. The reasoning types composition:
From the comments - 2 main points:
That’d be great. And quite entertaining to watch racists fuming.
It’s not about black lives…it’s about submitting to the new mantra of woke fascism. Don’t comply, and you MUST be racist - the new Spanish inquisition is activated.
#ANALYSIS: The Wallabies could become the first Australian national team to take a knee for Black Lives Matter https://t.co/UQ5X3aMEWU
— ABC News (@abcnews) October 22, 2020
Hasty generalizations examples:
Most viewers switched off a while ago.
Nobody cares what the Wallabies are up to these days.
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