April 25, 2024 — I have in the past identified a media phenomenon that I called the syndrome of “False Imbalance.” No, not “False Balance,” where the journalist takes an issue that is in truth unbalanced and pretends it is balanced. In a misguided attempt to sound impartial, he or she presents an unsupported viewpoint (say, climate change denial) on equal basis with a factual one.
False Imbalance takes a debate that is in truth balanced and pretends it is imbalanced. A leader is described as under widespread attack, without indicating that half the attacks are coming from one direction and half from the opposite direction. The reader is given no way of knowing that the public figure may be steering a path that carefully balances the pros and cons.