Bias is a term that refers to the tendency of people to have a prejudice or predisposition toward a particular perspective, idea, person, group, or phenomenon. These prejudices or predispositions usually distort the person’s objective judgment or communication.
Everyone has biases. People could deny or ignore it, yet it is still true.
Biases could be visible in communication. They could affect:
- Message creation (how something is framed or presented)
- Message interpretation (how someone understands a message)
- Media reporting (selective use of facts or language)
- Audience perception (assumptions based on stereotypes)
In case that biases affect the message creation, one could say that the “information is biased”. That could be best observed in pieces of propaganda materials, but also, if one is careful enough, in everyday news, as every news channel has an agenda.
Therefore, the way they present (or choose not to present) information is biased.