INFORMATION!

In today's world, we have access to the news and entertainment, anywhere we go, at any time. Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok shove content in our faces at a pace that would not have been possible just 20 years ago. I don't eschew these platforms entirely — on the contrary, I believe that modern social platforms, when used in moderation, can be a healthy way to bond with friends. However, the algorithms that drive the content discovery feeds on these platforms have an unfortunate tendency toward confirmation bias. Of course, this extends to news and political content.

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Since November 30, 2022, when OpenAI first introduced the world to conversational AI with the public launch of ChatGPT, the problems of misinformation and confirmation bias have only grown worse. Just like social media, it is possible to use AI tools well, in a way that is productive and healthy. Unfortunately, the words of these chatbots are often taken at face value, despite the fact that, as of July 2025, even the state-of-the-art chatbots are still very much susceptible to frequent hallucination. Many of them also tend to affirm confirmation biases because they are rewarded on the basis of user preference.

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All of this is to say that I have learned that it is best to avoid getting my news from social media or AI. Rather, I prefer to get my news through digital newspapers and podcasts.

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Personally, I tend to lean more conservative, so I try to ensure that I have a balanced media diet that includes left-leaning news sources, as well as right-leaning ones, so that I am getting a wider perspective. In terms of newspapers, my go-to left-leaning news source is the New York Times. My right-leaning paper of choice is The Wall Street Journal.

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I also enjoy listening to political podcasts. On the left, I really like the Ezra Klein Show. I think that Klein has a very unique interview style, and I like to hear his perspectives, as well as the perspectives of his numerous guests. On the right, I really enjoy listening to the Megyn Kelly Show. I really enjoy her podcast's style, and I think she offers many enlightening insights in the conversations that she hosts.

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I think it is important to consume news from across the political spectrum, and the AllSides Media Bias Chart has helped me to gauge media bias more effectively. To ensure that the news I'm hearing is factual, I like to check in on fact checking websites every now and then; however, it's important to note that these can be biased as well. In this regard, the AllSides Fact Check Bias Chart has been greatly helpful to me, too.

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I hope that this gives you some insight into my media consumption process! I don't claim to have perfect strategy for getting perfect news, but I think that making an effort to read factual news from across the political spectrum is a good start. :)