DAWN'S DIARY

It’s no secret to anyone that practically every news story nowadays has some sort of bias attached to it; our world has become so politicized that every aspect of it, from our media to the interactions we have with one another, has some political connotation behind it. In a way, our news and media have become weaponized as headlines not only seek to misguide audiences for selfish purposes, but the sea of misleading news nowadays is, arguably, a driving factor towards the chasm-like divide down the American political aisle. 

For this blog’s prompt, I chose to focus on one of the most shocking headlines this week: a mass shooting in Canada last Tuesday. Using AllSidesNow, I was able to gather articles from three different perspectives: the right, left, and non-biased news companies. To summarize the events though, according to the AllSidesNow news team, “A mass shooter killed eight people and injured over 25 at both Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and a private residence in British Columbia on Tuesday…The suspect, Jesse Van Rootselaar…18, also died from a presumed suicide. Law enforcement confirmed on Wednesday that Van Rootselaar, a biological man who began identifying as a woman about six years ago, had a history of mental illness.” 

While the left tends to value issues such as gun control, civil and gay rights, and backing social welfare programs, the right values issues such as freedom of gun ownership, maintaining tradition, and strong police and national defense. The difference in these values is clearly demonstrated when looking at the two articles produced from the left and the right, even in the title alone. For example, the DailyWire, a right-wing news source, titled the article, “Deadly Canada School Attacker Was Trans Identifying Man, Police Confirm”; on the other hand, the Associated Press, a left-wing news source, titled their article, “Suspect in Canada shooting is identified as an 18-year-old with history of police visiting her home.” While the title and content, which I did a deep dive into, of the right-wing source outright focus on the shooter’s transgender identity as a core part of the news story, the left-wing article attributes the shooting as unknown, but the observed history of mental illness may have been a factor. It’s also important to note that the Associated Press referred to the shooter with female pronouns, while the DailyWire would only refer to the shooter with no pronouns whatsoever, highlighting their hesistance towards emerging ideas such as LGBTQ+ rights.

When looking at the center-oriented article from the BBC though, titled “Police name Canada school shooting suspect and say six children among victims,” it differs from its biased counterparts in that it solely focuses on the ‘what’ of the story—that being the facts of who the shooter was, where, when, how many were killed, etc. Seeing differences was eye-opening as in a way, the unbiased story somehow seemed more empathetic to the situation; the heavy, unimaginable situation wasn’t weaponized to prove any point.  

However, despite these contrasting aspects, some commonalities I was able to find between the stories were the mentions of the shooters’ history with mental health struggles; although the left and right both disagree on whether the shooters’ gender identity was an important factor or not, there’s no denying that a gun shouldn’t have been in the hands of someone with a history of mental health issues. However, this one agreed-upon detail doesn’t excuse the vast difference in tone, content focus, and point of view though. 

It’s important to note that when reading this blog, you should remember that I tested as left leaning on the AllSides bias test; although I did my best to analyze and write this blog from an unbiased point of view, nothing can ever be truly viewed without some sense of bias. If anything, our political biases shape the very world we perceive and live in. Because of my pre-existing bias, I do favor the articles by the Associated Press and BBC more; however, we all have different lenses through which we view the world so I encourage you, the readers, to research this subject from all perspectives as well and see if there is anything to gain by looking at the opposite side’s view. We all could use more unity over finding commonalities and agreements, especially in such tribulating times.