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The difference
between fact and opinion

Title: Fact vs Opinion : Unraveling the truth

Abstract :

This abstract dives into several aspects to reach the distinction between fact and
opinion, it explores the characteristics that differentiate these two aspects of their
various contexts. This research sheds light on critical thinking and media literacy in a
world full of information. The abstract outlines the key findings, including the
significance methodologies in making this distinction between both fact and opinion
more apparent. This inquiry serves as a fundamental exploration in understanding the
cognitive processes behind human judgment and mindset on decision making that they
take.

1. Introduction:

In the world and age of information are both plentiful and easy to access, the
distinction between facts and opinions hold a huge impact as it supports the
fundamental knowledge and shapes our interactions with the outside world. This paper
embarks with the stunning search into the precise definitions of these concepts, the
comprehensive analysis and distinguishing between them is not just a simple
intellectual exercise but a critical necessity that can lead society with the information.

At the top of this exploration we have two foundations, the first one is the fact and it is
defined as a statement that is true and can not be proven to be wrong through the
objective evidence. On the other hand, opinion is a statement that expresses feelings,
an attitude, a value judgment or a belief, it’s opposite to the fact because facts are
always true, whereas opinions may change from person to person, it’s a type that no
one can have the same exact opinions on every topic, whilst facts are universally true.

The main purpose of this paper is to provide the comprehensive understanding of the
differences between fact and opinion, with undertaking more on the review of existing

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literature and on real life events examples specifically with case studies to accomplish
the significance of distinguishing between them. Our aim is to provide readers with the
necessary information and knowledge to get to the need for media literacy and critical
thinking. This research paper serves to guide readers towards the intellectual clarity to
understand the discern fact from opinion in a world shaped by lots of information.

2. Literature Review :

Frankfurt’s philosophical work tackles the nature of truth and deception, by his book
called “On Truth” that didn’t focus only on the fact-opinion distinction but also offers to
get into the philosophical foundations of facts and truth. This historical overview
highlighted influential works on the field, such as also “Blur : How To Know What’s
True In The Age Of Information Overload” by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, in this
book these two authors focused on the challenges of discerning fact from opinion, it
addresses the issues of knowing what is true and what is trustworthy in social media
and life.

The concepts of fact and opinion have historical roots and they have evolved over time,
often in response to changes in philosophy, media and society. The idea of facts as
objective, its verifiable truths can be from ancient philosophy, from the philosophers
Aristotle and Plato taking the importance of observation and evidence in understanding
the world. During the 17th and 18th century, the scientific method and empiricism
covered a wide shift. On the other side with opinion concepts, it has a long history going
back to ancient Greek thinkers who contemplated the nature of belief and personal
judgment. In the term of politics, opinion has played a part in the context of governance
and public participation, as societies have faced issues of democracy and other political
fields with the more recent time opinions have gained prominence as individuals and
media outlets express their subjective viewpoints.
In today’s society, the rise of social media and the democratizing of content creation
have made it so important to distinguish between fact and opinion. As a result, media
literacy, critical thinking and discernment have become essential skills for exploring
rapidly.

3. Definitions and Characteristics

3.1 Fact and Opinion

Starting with fact, it represents statements or propositions that are objectively true and
can be verified by empirical evidence. Its core characteristics lie in objectivity, which is

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financial information that should be unbiased and free from any kind of internal and
external influence. Facts are known by their consistency, reliable and widely applicable
across diverse contexts.
An opinion is a subjective expression of an individual's beliefs or judgments, that doesn’t
include real facts but instead it concerns personal beliefs on a certain topic.

3.1.1 Objectivity and subjectivity

Objectivity in general includes the practice of conveying information in a neutral,

unbiased and impartial manner. When information is objective, it can be measured or
tested by empirical evidence. It exists through personal beliefs, emotions or cultural
perspectives. Objective facts are universally accepted as they are not based on an
individual's aspect.

On the other hand, Subjectivity refers to the inner reality inherent from opinions. An
opinion is concerned with someone's perspectives or experience based on his point of
view. Subjectivity elements are often tangled with opinions and understanding these
aspects is the key to grasping the realm of subjective information.

While facts are naturally objective, opinions can sometimes incorporate objective
elements. As an example, an opinion on climate change might include objective
scientific data, but the other proposed solutions and interpretations are objective and
can not be subjective.

Understanding the balance between objective and subjective aspects gets into how it is
evaluated and presented. It also contains the information in real life world contexts,
where objective facts and subjective opinions coexist.

In the next upcoming sections, we will apply these concepts into real life examples,
including the media influence and the impact of cognitive biases in information
processing.

2.2.1 Empirical Evidence

Empirical evidence is the backbone of objectivity in discerning fact from opinion. It

represents information through systematic observation or measurement. The term
“empirical” derives from empiricism, a philosophical approach emphasizing the role of
sensory experience and observation as the foundation for knowledge.
Empirical evidence plays a crucial role in our everyday life, extending beyond academic
research and scientific discoveries. In journalism, journalists are expected to base their
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reporting on verifiable data and empirical evidence to ensure their accuracy and
objectivity. And in legal proceedings, evidence is presented in court to establish a truth
off a mattress. Healthcare decisions are as well often guided by empirical evidence
gathered through clinical trials and medical research.

While empirical evidence is a powerful tool in distinguishing between fact from opinion.
The select and use of data can distort the line between both fact and opinion. In the
media, for example, the presentation of empirical evidence can be a manipulation for
viewers to support a certain point of view. This highlights the huge importance of critical
evaluation of how empirical evidence is used in various forms.

4. The Role Of Media and Bias

4.1 Media influence

Media is a powerful force that shows how we perceive and interpret the world. The role of new media and
social networks in spreading information can be seen in viral media trends, like seeing a meme or a video
can quickly go viral without any proper fact checking, these virals can shape the public opinion without
any real evidence that confirms it whether it was true or fake and leading to the acceptance of
misinformation as fact.

Media is a primary source of information for many individuals. A real life example of the media's influence
is specifically on news reporting. Considering the public health crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic,
that went viral through social networks, with the ultimate shaping opinions that influenced public
perception with their beliefs on the crisis.
The rapid spread of information can also be a problem. A prominent example is the swiftness of fake
news and rumors about something that leads to the individuals changing their beliefs, this may transform
opinions and ignore the facts. A simple example to this, is how news and social media lies about the truth
between Palestine and Israel, showing one side of the story and making Israel a victim against “Hamas”
terrorizing the Israeli people and attacking them. Well that was false news and hiding the real true story,
because Palestinians have been suffering from Israel for nearly a decade but no one showed the true
facts.

4.2 Cognitive bias

Cognitive bias is the main part of human cognition, affecting the way we perceive ,interpret and process
information. These biases are systematic patterns in judgment and decision making. The cognitive bias
has an impact on how we perceive facts and opinions, they can affect our decision making or problem
solving.
You can say that our judgments or interpretations are shaped by these biases.
Examples of cognitive bias are in our everyday life, like a person might overvalue the importance of our
recent news events and believe everything he hears or sees without considering it might be wrong as
well, that is the reason for having bad and poor decision making.

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4.3 Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias is the cognitive bias that leads individuals to actively seek, interpret
and remember information or evidence in a way that confirms and supports their
existing beliefs or hypothesis. It gets people to favor information that matches their
current beliefs in a way that makes it challenging to consider the different point of views
or objectively evaluate fact and opinion. An example to the confirmation bias, If a person
is interested in a particular product he may seek out for reviews or testimonials that
matches his own preference, he may more likely look up to remember and give greater
value to the positive side while overlooking the negative reviews and critical opinion.

5. Fact-Checking and Its Challenges

Fact-Checking is a critical process of information in our life, it serves as a warning against the spread of
false and misinformation and plays a role in helping the individuals distinguish between facts and opinion.
However, fact checking is not without its challenges.

5.1 Its challenges

In an era where any information is widely spreaded in such a short time, fact-checkers face issues
especially on the internet and social media, it makes it challenging to address every assertion in a timely
manner, this leads to the spread of false information before it can be examined or corrected and causing
much harm and damage among the public.
Additionally, fact-checking can run into a serious problem, where individuals reject fact-checking results
that disturbs their current beliefs. This effect can lead to further problems and false evidence among these
people.

In response to these challenges, fact-checkers are still exploring different methods to approach and
improve the accuracy and reliability of their work. They leverage automation and artificial intelligence to
process large volumes of information and gain the trust of the individuals with their facts. They collaborate
with social media platforms to build strong communities and get rid of false information is becoming more
common by time with this strategy.

6. Critical Thinking and Media Literacy

The skills of critical thinking and media literacy have never been this crucial like in today’s information and
interconnected world. As we navigate a lot of news and ideas from various sources, teaching these skills
have to be a must.

6.1 Critical Thinking

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Critical thinking is the ability to evaluate and analyze information objectively and logically. Teaching critical
thinking skills helps individuals to make informed decisions and choices and distinguish between facts
and opinions and gets to a higher standard of understanding things. It helps individuals develop their
analytical skills to better understand the situations around them.
For example, participants in a debate listen carefully to the others' arguments, critically evaluate their
points and distinguish between the facts and opinions, the true and false.

6.2 Media Literacy

Media literacy is the ability to access and evaluate a content creation. It refers to understanding the role of
social media in society, being critical consumers of media and actively engaging with the media creation.
Teaching media literacy equips individuals and people with the tools to develop their critical thinking skills
with multiple perspectives from the outside world or other sources, from newspapers to social media
content.

7. Teaching Critical Thinking and Media Literacy

Teaching Critical Thinking and Media Literacy is the main aim in our driven information society. These
skills are essential for the individuals to make well informed decisions and explore many different pieces
of information by their critical thinking and discerning between facts and opinions.
Here we dig into the importance of teaching critical thinking and media literacy.

7.1 The importance of teaching critical thinking and media literacy

Critical thinking equips the people with something called “decision-making”, which are skills to evaluate
information and resources to make rational decisions in many cases, ensuring they are not swayed by
fake information and getting manipulated by bias.
Media literacy quickly enables individuals to critically analyze media content, recognizing how information
can be framed or manipulated. This skill is crucial for distinguishing between factual reporting and
editorial opinions. Both critical thinking and media literacy are important for active citizenship. In
democratic societies, citizens must be informed by democracy and engage in public discourse, make
choices and hold a clear vision for these topics.

Teaching critical thinking and media literacy not only benefits students with valuable skills for academic
success but also prepares them to take responsibilities in the outside world with other people and also as
a citizen. In a world full of incorrect information, these skills are the pills for the society that values rational
discourse,responsible media consumption and the ability to distinguish between fact and opinion.

Conclusion
In closing, in a world we’re living in where information has become more accurate and accessible than
before, the ability to discern between fact and opinion is complex. This paper got through many points
and sections concerning the literature review of both facts and opinions, the definitions and characteristics
where we discussed objectivity and subjectivity and the empirical evidence, the role of media and
bias,specifying more on cognitive and confirmation bias, the fact-checking and its challenges, then
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digging more on Teaching critical thinking and media literacy. Ultimately, the ability to differentiate
between fact and opinion empowers the individuals to decision-making on many fields and finally to
contribute to a well informed society.

References

● “On Truth” by Harry G. Frankfurt

● “Blur: How To Know What’s True In The Age Of Information Overload”
by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosentiel
● Quicksearch
● Combrid
● https://depts.washington.edu/nwmedia/sections/nw_center/curriculum
_docs/teach_combine.pd

Name : Bahlouli Meriem

Group 6