Bruce Bartlett

In an era of "fake news" and "alternative facts," this short book attempts to show how the average person can distinguish between real news and propaganda.

If a news story is being covered by only one news source, the story is probably fake. Get in the habit of frequently visiting a fact check website. Does a source have a bias in a news story? Are they less than non-partisan?

Frequently, a story will cite "according to a government study" as its source. What study? What agency did the study? When was the study done? Conveniently, it's now not possible to look up the study to see just what it says. It's much better to cite a specific, and researchable, study?

Primary sources, people who were actually at the event, are much more reliable than secondary sources, people who weren't there, but heard about the event later. Journalism terms. like "on the record" or "off the record" have different meanings and can be used by sources to mislead reporters. Visit your local library; they have search engines of most major newspapers, and free online access to valuable news databases. A better job needs to be done at putting numbers, like the federal budget, in proper context. Opinion polls are easily manipulated. It's best to look at trends by several different pollsters, instead of just one poll.

This book also includes a list of websites to visit to get real and reliable information, instead of nonsense. It is short, very easy to read and highly recommended for all Americans.… (mais)

The Truth Matters is one of those books that will be read most often by folks who need it least and least by those who need it most. It’s short and sweet, just checking out the first section to decide whether to read it next, I was soon twenty percent through the book, so I just finished it in about an hour. It is written by the conservative economist Bruce Bartlett who worked for Ron Paul, Jack Kemp, Ronald Reagan, and the first Bush White House and several conservative think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and Cato Institute. For his sins, advocated supply-side economics but in 2013 admitted his error and said Keynes was right. I admire people who can change their minds when looking at the evidence. He is a former Republican because there’s nothing conservative about today’s Republicans.

Bartlett wrote The Truth Matters in hopes of combatting the rise of misinformation, disinformation, and the loss of faith in the media. It is a short book with good advice on how to evaluate what you read for credibility, how to evaluate sources, and how to do some of your own research. By far, the most valuable is the latter where he gives good sources to search for government studies, academic research, and other credible information without spending a fortune on subscriptions. Like me, he makes use of his library card and local library online research tools.

There’s useful information on evaluating historic economic data and wonderful suggestions for research sources. I am skilled at searching for information. I read an article, I hunt down the original source, even when the article fits my worldview. I want to know if the study says what the reporter says it says because too often, they don’t. Many people don’t understand statistics, don’t know how to interpret the findings and exaggerate or miss the point. The number of academics who have said “That’s not what I wrote” could probably form a line that crosses the nation. In spite of that, I learned new sources and new places to look from this book which surprised me. I know that sounds prideful, but I am good at finding stuff on the internet.

I highly recommend The Truth Matters though I suspect the folks who most need it are least likely to read it. If you believe the truth matters, you already seek the truth and don’t just let AM Radio wash over you and drown your ability to think for yourself. I know it’s written by a conservative, but that does not mean the followers of FOX News and Breitbart would ever read or believe it. They are not conservatives, they are radicals and white nationalists. There’s nothing conservative about them. So, like many good books of good sense by people of good will, it will be read by those who least need it and those who most need it would rather burn it than read it.

I received an e-galley of The Truth Matters from the publisher through NetGalley.

The Truth Matters at Penguin Random House | Ten Speed Press
Bruce Bartlett on Facebook, Twitter, at New York Times

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2017/12/01/9780399581168/… (mais)

The Truth Matters clears the air. Inundated with catchphrases like fake news and lamestream media, it is a relief to visit this oasis of common sense. Bartlett sets out a top line summary of what to watch for, how to avoid traps, how to do real research (beyond Wikipedia and Google) and set up your own feeds.

It is all valuable information, and Bartlett provides website links he recommends and uses. There’s even a website where historians debunk the latest lies about what has gone before.

The book is way too short; it’s designed for the eight second attention span. It would be much better with some in-depth examples, and following some misinformation on its explosive path. So it could have been much more entertaining and had greater impact. But as a quick summary – it’s just a two hour read at most – it is still valuable and valid.

David Wineberg… (mais)