{"id":8688,"date":"2021-07-15T10:58:45","date_gmt":"2021-07-15T09:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=8688"},"modified":"2021-07-15T11:35:07","modified_gmt":"2021-07-15T10:35:07","slug":"the-big-difference-between-facts-and-opinions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/the-big-difference-between-facts-and-opinions\/","title":{"rendered":"The big difference between facts and opinions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Some news readers may be confused on what constitutes fact and opinion in journalism. While this reality is arguably prevalent, understanding journalistic terms such as editorials, news stories, opinions etc. has always been challenging to some  readers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, in this case, a fact is a statement that can be proven true or false and an opinion expresses a person’s feelings that cannot be proven in most cases. While opinions can also  be based on facts or emotions, they are sometimes meant to deliberately mislead others, that is why they are considered <\/a>not so dependable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a study <\/a>conducted by   Pew Research Center <\/a>  on \u201cIf Americans have some ability to separate what is factual from what is opinion,\u201d the result shows that most respondents have some trouble separating what is factual from what is an  opinion. And  the few that could have some strong political background. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to this resulting gap, some audiences have unconsciously become carriers of fake news, misinformation and disinformation, while some people intentionally spread false information and lies through opinion. It is heartbreaking to note that false, opinionated information often travels faster than facts,  in line with the popular saying, “fake news spreads like wildfire.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts<\/a>  in media content have said that most<\/a> people skim the headlines of a newspaper quickly to decide if they want to read the lead article or not. While some readers read a headline more than once to completely understand, others scan the article for specific information. These methods of reading news contents may not allow the reader to fathom the entire information outlined in the piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inability of readers to distinguish<\/a> between factual reports and opinionated articles has some negative consequences. An example is the recent opinion article<\/a> on the suspension of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) that triggered a lot of reactions, with some of the readers<\/a> spreading false information that NYSC has been suspended, mistaking the opinionated article for fact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what are the basis for facts and opinion?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An opinion<\/a> is an expression of a person\u2019s feelings that cannot be proven; opinions can be based on facts or emotions and sometimes they are meant to deliberately mislead others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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These are typical examples of expressing opinion<\/em><\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, the author<\/a> may use descriptive language to appeal to the reader’s emotions and sway their thinking, of which emotional language is neither right nor wrong, but the way in which it is used can be positive or negative, leaving it up to the reader to make a reasonable judgement about the material and  draw their own conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, a fact<\/a> generally refers to something that is true and can be verified as such; a fact is something that can be proven to be true or false.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Typical examples fact<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According to Prof. Kwame Karikari<\/a>, Facts are objective not subjective and journalism has a burden of being factual, thus explaining  why fact checking is important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Karikari’s words: “Facts are important for fairness, they are important in all interpersonal relationships, we need the facts as they provide solutions to personal and global problems, we need the facts as they make our government more democratic.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Establishing the difference between fact and opinion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Research<\/a> has shown that  lack of labeling can lead to readers\u2019 confusion, so journalists have made it a point of duty to always place a labeling on all articles to indicate analysis<\/a>, opinion<\/a>, reviews<\/a> and news<\/a>, and the label is always placed  in a prominent place at the top of articles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Typical example of labeling<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n