Letter: Pay Attention to Sources Behind Opinions on Politics

By [Your Name]

As election season is going strong, the Lincoln Journal Star recently published an opinion piece by a reader who supported Donald Trump. The writer’s negative opinion of President Biden and positive opinion of Trump were based on unsupported claims and misleading information. It’s important to consider the sources behind political opinions, especially during an election year.

The writer cited social media as a source of information, which is problematic because it can be filled with false or misleading information. They also cited conservative media outlets that are known to promote biased and inaccurate information.

When evaluating political opinions, it’s important to consider the credibility of the source. Reputable news organizations, academic institutions, and government agencies are more likely to provide accurate and unbiased information. Social media and partisan media outlets are less reliable sources.

It’s also important to be aware of logical fallacies, which are errors in reasoning that can lead to incorrect conclusions. Some common logical fallacies include:

• Ad hominem: Attacking the person making the argument rather than the argument itself.
• Straw man: Misrepresenting the opposing argument in order to make it easier to attack.
• Red herring: Introducing a new topic that is unrelated to the original argument.
• Appeal to emotion: Using emotional language to persuade rather than logical reasoning.
• False dilemma: Presenting only two options when there are actually more.

By being aware of logical fallacies, you can better evaluate the validity of political opinions. It’s important to remember that not all opinions are created equal. Some opinions are based on facts and evidence, while others are based on prejudice and misinformation. It’s up to us to decide which opinions we trust.