Welcome to Fact and Myth

Fact and Myth

Fact and Myth and is an ongoing analysis of common facts and myths/fallacies that pervade western (mainly US) culture and society. In today’s world of social media and 24-hour news cycle, we are bombarded with information, much of which are claims passed off as fact. Too often, there is no context nor in-depth explanation and we are left with the option of taking these sources at their word, or discarding them as myths, fallacies or even lies. What’s more, many of us have a pre-conceived worldview which leads us to accept statements from one “camp” while resisting all information from another. This process, known as confirmation bias, in turn affects society at large, as people vote, lobby, donate, demonstrate and engage in other activities that result in outcomes which may or may not be desirable. It affects policies that are passed or defeated; it affects the science that children learn (or don’t learn) in schools.

Fact and Myth seeks to unpack many prevailing claims and explain the reality behind them. In a world where much of our informational media is driven by emotion, sensationalism and business practices that lead media to simply provide opinion pieces that agree with their readers base and protect their corporate advertisers, Fact and Myth dives into these claims in data-driven fashion.

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