Truthiness

Stephen Colbert, Scientific Pioneer

Chris Mooney | Posted 04.05.2012

Chris Mooney

Truthiness is the quality of knowing something in your gut or your heart, as opposed to in your head. Colbert didn't just diagnose a deep malady in American political discourse. He also used phrases that anticipated research results on the differences between liberals and conservatives.

"Obama? I Wouldn't Vote for That Socialite"

Bernard Starr | Posted 05.26.2012

Bernard Starr

If you don't know the difference between a socialite and socialist, you are a prime candidate for the U.S. Republican debate team.

Doing Something About Truthiness in Politics and News

Craig Newmark | Posted 05.20.2012

Craig Newmark

There are plenty of good fact-checking efforts in progress. However, we need to address what Jon Stewart calls the "CNN leaves it there" problem, where a reporter sees that a public figure is lying, but doesn't fact-check him, saying that they have to "leave it there."

Merry Christmas From Colbert: Satire's Special Gift

Sophia A. McClennen | Posted 02.22.2012

Sophia A. McClennen

What is Colbert's greatest gift this holiday season? It's his satire -- and especially his way of using words -- puns, neologisms, wordplay, etc. to encourage his audience to think critically.

The Wavelength: Original Reporting--What's it Worth? Plus: Tracking the AT&T/T-Mobile Merger

The Media Consortium | Posted 06.04.2011

The Media Consortium

By Eric Arnold, Media Consortium blogger Last week, the New York Times debuted a long-awaited paywall, and stats blogger Nate Silver used the launch a...

Digging Hurts: The Trauma of Writing Fiction Truthfully

Randy Susan Meyers | Posted 05.25.2011

Randy Susan Meyers

While writing my novel, I accessed dark emotional truths. But I think I learned something: If one's past is cooked correctly and honestly, it's bound to leave the writer with a bit of indigestion.

Shadow Elite: Truthiness, Porn and the Real Problem With Reality TV

Janine R. Wedel | Posted 05.25.2011

Janine R. Wedel

What do the makers of reality TV and the makers of pornography have in common with some of America's top power brokers? It may be less of a stretch than it sounds.

The Truth in Truthiness: Christine O'Donnell Gets Honest

Mark Olmsted | Posted 05.25.2011

Mark Olmsted

As long as we're going to be spending so much time in the Tea Party fantasy world, I thought it only fair that I turn the tables. What would it sound like if Christine O'Donnell made a completely honest speech?

Shadow Elite: Truthiness in the Twitter Era

Janine R. Wedel | Posted 05.25.2011

Janine R. Wedel

The insidious and deceptive self-branding that used to be confined to the corporate world is now also used by political message-makers, aiming to create a look and feel that consumers identify with intuitively.

Internet Petitions Stephen Colbert To Hold 'Restoring Truthiness' Rally At Lincoln Memorial

Huffington Post | Katla McGlynn | Posted 05.25.2011

A grassroots campaign has begun to get Stephen Colbert to hold a rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to counter Glenn Beck's recent "Restoring ...

Have You Had Your "Information Debris " Today?

Caryl Rivers | Posted 05.25.2011

Caryl Rivers

The beliefs held by "Truthers" and "Birthers" were culled not from mailings from extremist groups or the creepy websites of the lunatic fringe. They were discussed by the mainstream media.

Shadow Elite: March to War -- Rove, Perle, & Truthiness

Janine R. Wedel | Posted 05.25.2011

Janine R. Wedel

One wishes that Iraq was now simply a matter of historian research. But the reality is that we're still there and the country is still dangerously unstable. No amount of truthiness can make that hard fact go away.

Washington Post Fostering Confusion About Clean Energy Opportunities

A. Siegel | Posted 05.25.2011

A. Siegel

By arguing that a transition to a clean energy economy will lead to some job losses, Sunil Sharan reminds us of doomsayers who fight change, focusing on costs while ignoring the greater benefits.

Business Week Deceiving Readers

A. Siegel | Posted 05.25.2011

A. Siegel

Poor misunderstood (former) GM executive Bob Lutz. How dare Lutz be castigated for stating that "Global warming is a crock of s*%t!" After all, he f...

Shadow Elite: Do You Know Whose Agenda You're Being Sold?

Janine R. Wedel | Posted 01.03.2012

Janine R. Wedel

In the community of fewer than 2,000 in which I grew up, the proverbial six degrees of separation melt away. You can't help but play multiple roles in...

Guardian Asserts Conspiracy to Hide the Peak

A. Siegel | Posted 05.25.2011

A. Siegel

A recent Guardian article raises the question: has there been a conspiracy to inflate IEA numbers and thus distort the global conversation about our energy challenges?

Baucus' Bill Not Bipartisan, But Panmedia

Chris Weigant | Posted 05.25.2011

Chris Weigant

Baucus' was supposed to be the "bipartisan" bill, but the only way it can truly be referred to as such is in the growing bipartisan distaste for the bill.

Scientific Inquiry Concludes: Inhofe List "Not credible"

A. Siegel | Posted 05.25.2011

A. Siegel

Senator James Inhofe misused the power of his chairmanship to expend taxpayer resources on distorting, misleading, and outright deceiving when it comes to scientific issues, most notably in relation to questions of Global Warming.

Washington Post Promotes Debunked Deception About Hummers vs. Priuses

A. Siegel | Posted 05.25.2011

A. Siegel

Does anyone suspect that The Washington Post editorial board has the sensibility to be embarrassed by publishing this absurd letter citing such a deceptive and deceitful marketing "study"?

"We Call it Life ..." Idiocy and Deception Resurrected

A. Siegel | Posted 05.25.2011

A. Siegel

When it comes to discussion of climate change, there are too many prepared to come to the table intent on deceiving and confusing rather than engaging honestly.

Will Continues Will-Ful Deceit

A. Siegel | Posted 05.25.2011

A. Siegel

Should anyone wonder that the interview that followed his global warming column simply gave Will another podium for his Will-ful deception?

Coal's Sacriligeous Caroling

A. Siegel | Posted 05.25.2011

A. Siegel

I was shocked at the latest parody of a set of Christmas Carols courtesy of the coal industry's mouthpiece, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity: the "Clean Coal Carolers" with a set of lyrics that take their truthiness and deception to a whole new level of depravity.

Truth is Utterly Optional

A. Siegel | Posted 05.25.2011

A. Siegel

Amid the flood of revelations of biblical proportions about Sarah Palin, which seems destined to last for at least 40 days and 40 nights, here is an item that might not be receiving the focus that it merits.

Lying to Drill the Hole Deeper

A. Siegel | Posted 05.25.2011

A. Siegel

Efforts to increase America's oil production can be part of a holistic energy package, but they should be part of a larger discussion. And they should be grounded in truth.