This lapse in responsible reporting refers to using outliers’ voices to state opinions that contradict the facts—or the currently accepted consensus based on the evidence—simply to provide “balance” to a story. It is also called false equivalence or “both-sidesism.” Stories about any topic certainly need to include as many perspectives on an issue as possible as long as those perspectives are purely opinion-based (something that science cannot show to be true or untrue either way) or those perspectives are supported by some scientific evidence, even if that evidence diverges from other evidence. However, if such a strong consensus from the evidence exists that something is regarded as a fact, then including a person who doesn’t believe that fact does not provide accurate or appropriate balance to a story — it just confuses the reader about what the facts are.
Deeper dive
A flip example of false balance would be including a quote from someone who believes the earth is flat in a story related to weather or the curvature of the earth, or quoting someone who believes the moon landing was a hoax in a memorial story about the moonwalk. In reporting on medical research, the lines not to cross aren’t always as obvious. It becomes tricky because scientists are learning more information all the time, and it’s reasonable for journalists to seek countering opinions, particularly on new research, such as new findings about the gut microbiome or a new treatment. Other topics, such as breast cancer screening, may have contradictory evidence or involve controversial opinions on what to do about the evidence, all of which should be considered for a story.
One of the most common examples of a topic that falls prey to false balance, or false equivalency, is vaccines, most often among reporters who are less familiar with the health or science beat. The way the media’s falsely balanced vaccine reporting damaged public health reporting (and consequently public health) is such a well-worn case study that CJR featured outstanding coverage of it in Curtis Brainard’s Sticking with the Truth. Quoting “both sides” on concerns about a safety issue in vaccines that has been demonstrably shown not to exist makes it appear that there is a controversy among experts when there is not. The group Voices for Vaccines offers an excellent primer to false balance and how to avoid it in accurate news stories about vaccines.
The danger of false equivalence remains for any issue on which a broad medical or scientific consensus exists based on the evidence and a handful of outliers attempt to discredit that information for various reasons, often motivated by personal financial gain. Avoiding false balance doesn’t mean journalists take off their skeptical hat in covering these issues, but they should only report these scientifically outlier positions if solid evidence supports it, not just because someone somewhere believes it.