Snack Bar: A New Cobb Lane, Bar Carnation Arrives and More Local Food News This Week. 

Detected Manipulations & Suggested Changes

Biased language / Appeal to emotion

Use of positive, promotional or emotionally appealing wording that subtly encourages a favorable impression rather than neutrally describing facts.

1) "Melbourne chocolate maker Hunted & Gathered has released a cherry and rose chocolate bar, made with sour cherries and rose essential oils, for Valentine’s Day." 2) "Food writer Dani Valent is hosting a series of lunch, dinner and food shopping tours in Bentleigh this March and April. Valent will guide groups of up to 10 people through Centre Road and participants will be invited to sample small dishes from several venues." 3) "Local artist Francesca Donnoli has an exhibition titled The Faces of Thornbury Espresso Bar at Red Gallery in Fitzroy North until Saturday February 21. The show features black and white portraits of the Thornbury Espresso Bar community." 4) "Miscellania’s vibey rooftop bar is back open." 5) "How to get free Pidapipo gelato and free Kiehl’s samples." These are mostly neutral descriptions, but terms like "vibey" and the emphasis on "free" samples are mildly promotional and appeal to readers’ emotions or desires (fun atmosphere, free goods) rather than strictly conveying neutral information.

3 suggestions

Replace subjective adjectives with neutral descriptors. For example, change "Miscellania’s vibey rooftop bar is back open" to "Miscellania’s rooftop bar has reopened."

When highlighting free items, add neutral context instead of framing it as a hook. For example, change "How to get free Pidapipo gelato and free Kiehl’s samples" to "Details on current Pidapipo gelato and Kiehl’s promotional offers."

Avoid lifestyle-marketing tone and stick to factual details: dates, times, locations, prices, and what is being offered, without implying value judgments (e.g., avoid words like "vibey," "must-try," "unmissable").

Unbalanced reporting / Selective focus

Focusing exclusively on one set of actors (featured venues and creators) without any comparative context, which can implicitly favor them over others.

The entire piece is a list of specific venues, events, and products: Askal, Secret Sauce, Rosheen Kaul, Hunted & Gathered, Dani Valent’s tours, Francesca Donnoli’s exhibition, Bar Carnation, Cobb Lane, Aunty’s Dumplings, Seoul Tiger 1988, Past Port’s Sarah Chan’s recommendation, Miscellania, Pidapipo, Kiehl’s. No alternative venues, critical perspectives, or broader context are mentioned. While this is typical for a listings-style article, it inherently promotes the featured entities over non-featured competitors.

3 suggestions

Clarify the format and intent at the top, e.g., "This is a curated list of selected food and drink events and openings this week, not a comprehensive guide." This makes the selectivity transparent.

Where relevant, briefly note that these are examples among many options, e.g., "Among the new openings this month are Bar Carnation and Cobb Lane bakery in the CBD."

Avoid language that implies these are the only or definitively best options; keep the tone informational rather than implicitly endorsing.