Media Manipulation and Bias Detection
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HonestyMeter - AI powered bias detection
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Service/Advertisers
Caution! Due to inherent human biases, it may seem that reports on articles aligning with our views are crafted by opponents. Conversely, reports about articles that contradict our beliefs might seem to be authored by allies. However, such perceptions are likely to be incorrect. These impressions can be caused by the fact that in both scenarios, articles are subjected to critical evaluation. This report is the product of an AI model that is significantly less biased than human analyses and has been explicitly instructed to strictly maintain 100% neutrality.
Nevertheless, HonestyMeter is in the experimental stage and is continuously improving through user feedback. If the report seems inaccurate, we encourage you to submit feedback , helping us enhance the accuracy and reliability of HonestyMeter and contributing to media transparency.
Using positive or reassuring language to make data collection and tracking feel more acceptable or beneficial, without equally emphasizing potential downsides.
Phrases such as: - "This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns." - "This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you." - "so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests." These statements frame tracking and profiling as clearly beneficial and "helpful" without mentioning any risks (e.g., privacy concerns, data security, potential misuse). This creates a subtle one-sided, positive emotional framing of the practices.
Replace value-laden phrases like "This is very helpful" with neutral descriptions, e.g., "This is used to assess the relevance of advertising campaigns."
Balance benefit statements with a brief, factual mention of potential risks or trade-offs, e.g., "While this can make ads more relevant, it also involves collecting and combining information about your activity across services."
Avoid language that implies clear improvement to the user experience without evidence, e.g., change "so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests" to "so that content can be ordered based on inferred interests."
Presenting only the functional/benefit side of data processing while omitting relevant contextual information that would help users fully understand implications.
Throughout the text, the purposes of data use are described (e.g., "Create profiles for personalised advertising", "Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources") but there is no mention of: - How long data is stored - What specific categories of data are collected (beyond generic examples) - Potential risks (e.g., re-identification, data breaches) - User rights (access, deletion, objection) This omission makes the practices appear purely functional and benign, which can underinform users about the full implications of consenting.
Add concise, neutral statements about data retention and security, e.g., "Data may be stored for up to X months and is protected using [general security measures]."
Specify categories of data more clearly where relevant, e.g., "This may include device identifiers, approximate location, and interaction logs such as pages viewed and clicks."
Include a short note on user rights, e.g., "You can manage your consent choices and request access or deletion of your data in the privacy settings."
Clarify that combining data from different sources can increase identifiability, in neutral terms, e.g., "Combining data from different sources can make it easier to link activities to the same user or device."
Describing one side of an issue (benefits to service/advertisers and convenience to users) more thoroughly than the other (privacy concerns and user control).
The text repeatedly emphasizes how data use helps with relevance, improvement of services, and ease of finding content: - "This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns." - "This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you." - "so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests." However, it does not provide comparable detail on how users can limit tracking, what happens if they refuse consent, or what privacy protections are in place. This creates an imbalance in how the interests of the service/advertisers vs. users are presented.
Add parallel detail about user control options, e.g., "You can choose to allow only limited data use or opt out of personalised advertising in your settings."
Explicitly state that users can still use the service (if true) with reduced tracking, or clearly explain any functional limitations in neutral terms.
Include a short, neutral explanation of privacy safeguards and governance, e.g., "Partners are required to handle data in accordance with applicable data protection laws and contractual safeguards."
- This is an EXPERIMENTAL DEMO version that is not intended to be used for any other purpose than to showcase the technology's potential. We are in the process of developing more sophisticated algorithms to significantly enhance the reliability and consistency of evaluations. Nevertheless, even in its current state, HonestyMeter frequently offers valuable insights that are challenging for humans to detect.