"Scumlord"

[SueDonim]

I rarely read Stuff - only this particular article because it was highlighted here. I'm beginning to wish I hadn't.

If you read the TT rulings associated with the people in the articles then you can see the selective picking from the information to create bias. There's an article in the Herald today that gives a good contrast in approach https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/crime/land...2EFV6ZXGA/. The landlord clearly has done wrong and you can see that from the quotes from the tribunal. The whole article has a different feel - you don't need to look further because the quotes  are from the TT rather than the people, and make it obvious that the information is real. And you can still check under the TT if you did want to verify that they really are quotes. So I have no problem whatsoever with that article.

I don't at all think that Stuff comes into the same category as the anti-vaxxers and CTers etc that get all the attention, but it is a concern that it slides under the radar because it isn't so extreme yet people believe what they read in the media just because the media "says". In a way this has been a bit of an eye opener that even after all we've seen and read about the need for critical evaluation, everyone still thinks that it's only the extremists that have a problem. Everyone, and I really mean everyone, needs to take a step back and be a little bit aware of what's going on around us. Most media is thinly disguised entertainment and can be enjoyed on that level while giving us an indication of what is going on in the world, but when something is important, we need to learn to be that little bit questioning.

you've definitely got that anti mainstream media vibe going on there...

Ha. Just the ones that won't let the truth get in the way of a good story.....