Thread by @bansisharma

1. A Primer on "Facts vs. Reality"
Believe it or not, the vast majority of what appears in mainstream media (MSM) outlets is factually correct, if you know how to separate facts from opinion. But it rarely reflects reality. The distinction is critical and well worth learning.

2. First and foremost, let me tell you how to glean facts from what is reported in the MSM.
"Just discard all the adjectives and adverbs in a headline and the content of a story, what remains is mostly facts." Example:
Headline: "XXX Gave a Fiery Speech"
Fact: "XXX Gave a Speech"

3. Okay, so if MSM mostly presents facts, bathed in opinion, why can't we get a sense of what is really going on in the world by just homing in on the facts presented by the media, by discarding all the adjectives and adverbs?

4. Because MSM does not present all the facts, and even worse, MSM rarely presents the most relevant facts that have an important bearing on what's going on in the world.

5. For legal liability reasons, MSM makes sure it does not lie outright, but MSM has no legal obligation to present all the facts or even the relevant facts. It can pick and choose which facts to present, and leave out whatever doesn't comport with its narrative.

6. There is infinitely more happening in the world at any moment in time than what MSM can ever cover. So presenting selective slices of reality that suit MSM's narrative is the easiest thing in the world. There is always ample supply of data and facts to further any agenda.

7. To truly understand what's going on in the world, we need to know what the vast majority of people are actually doing, and not obsess over what a vocal minority is saying about what's happening. However, all we usually hear about is what a vocal minority in the media says.

8. So what are we to do? Here's a partial solution that ordinary folks, without access to extensive resources to run their own news gathering operations, can implement for their own use. It only requires analytical capabilities, logic, and patience. The rest is easy.

9. It's a 3-step process that everyone can and should practice:
a) Gather facts (i.e. MSM news stories minus adjectives and adverbs)
b) Make a logical prediction about imminent events based on those facts (quite often MSM itself will intimate such predictions)
c) Watch results

10. If the results do not comport with what you would reasonably expect, chances are there is nothing wrong with your logic, it is just that MSM never gave you all the facts, highlighted irrelevant facts, or likely exaggerated some relatively unimportant facts to push an agenda.

11. The important underlying principle to this bit of sleuthing comes from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle [creator of Sherlock Holmes], who illustrated it in a short story by solving a mystery based on "the dog that didn't bark" when you would would expect it to.

12. Let me close by illustrating with a past media story about thousands of 'armed terrorists' [as one prominent politician dubbed them] showing up in Michigan Capitol to protest Gov. Whitmer's stay-at-home order, thereby clearly implying the possibility of bloody violence.

13. Forget about bloody violence, was there any violence at all that day, or the day before, or the following day, or the day following that? Did you read any MSM stories about violence erupting in Michigan? Nope. So, what gives? The usual hyperventilation against #2A supporters!

14. Always look for "the dog that didn't bark" to understand what people are actually doing, even when MSM never tells you.

15. Political reality is often far removed from the reality on the ground. Unfortunately, MSM only cares about political reality and is always trying to manipulate it.

16. People's lives, OTOH, are far more impacted by the often unreported reality on the ground that you have to infer.

The End