You don't seem to realize that /r/worldnews and, subsequently, /r/news are already horribly biased, usually racist, and sometimes misoganystic. I like Reddit, a lot. It can be very entertaining and I can learn a lot from it. But I would never, never, never use it as a source for the news that's happening around the world. I get it from reputable places. Plus a big part of joining Reddit is realizing that the defaults are shite, so, you know, maybe this is helping with that
I used to think the same way you did until I realized the HUGE effect reddit has on the thoughts, opinions and overall knowledge of a FUCK TON of people. I used to think: it's a private site with private subreddits and they can run it however they like. Mods for sale? If you don't think this is happening, you're stupid. Jailbait? Fuck yeah. He can do what he wants. In the last couple years, reddit has expanded to be the default news source of a lot of people (not just techy programmer types). Top blogs and news sites get their stories from reddit, rather than reddit posting stories from top blogs / news sites. But even with this expansion, people still believe that reddit is full of the top news stories and stories that no one else covers. Posts like, "This is happening in Ukraine/Venezuela and mass media isn't covering it" demonstrate this. It shows how reddit strives to be different than traditional media and call attention to all stories. But for a large population of people today, reddit is basically traditional media and reddit's stories have the same struggles and flaws: biases, censorship, ignorance, left wing, right wing, echo chamber, etc. The real problem is that redditors believe that reddit has every top story and is breaking the mold of what traditional media outlets provide. This assumption/viewpoint results in a certain blindness / ignorance to any censorship or bias. It's not quite as bad as Fox News enthusiasts, but it's getting close. Because reddit gives the impression that it is covers everything important, people have the potential to be doubly blinded to any censorship that does occur. It wouldn't be an issue if readers knew they weren't getting the full story. And a lot of people (like you) see the racist, biased, misogynistic or 20%-of-the-story posts. But the problem remains for a majority - this is why the post in /r/news was such a shock to a lot of redditors. Whether it is a big conspiracy, whether mods have been bought or not, or whether someone was actively censoring the post in question, I think it is important to remind the masses that reddit doesn't have every side of every story. If people can even open their eyes a little bit, or question a little bit, it's going to be a better situation.
I wish I knew a newspaper I could trust.. The guardian maybe but apart from that I feel a bit lost looking for "reputable sources" these days. I must admit a large part of my news comes from reddit. It's just too damn easy to get it there and get swept up in the hive mind.
The trick is, when you find a particular news report, don't take that as fact. Go through the net and find lots of different reports on the same thing, then make a decision as to how you feel about it. It takes more work, but you become better informed. And give NPR a shot, it's the bee's knees.I feel a bit lost looking for "reputable sources" these days.
There are some good publications, but increasingly it is better to follow certain authors rather than the newspapers/publications themselves. The best individual reporters have much more respect for their craft and their audience than any collection of them on a payroll.I wish I knew a newspaper I could trust..
I've been tuning into Democracy Now! recently, and it's pretty good (though it's not a newspaper, it's a show). It's certainly biased pretty far to the left, but admittedly and unapologetically so. I think bias is only really a problem in journalism when the authors try to hide it.