Media bias and reliability assessments
The Gateway Pundit
Gateway Pundit frequently fails fact checks from a variety of sources. Examples included below came from Misinfo.me, which rated the outlet as unreliable.
Media Bias Fact Check rated the outlet as having very low reliability based upon “extreme right-wing bias, promotion of conspiracies, and numerous instances of publishing false (fake) news.”
The Iffy fact-check search engine returns over 1500 fact-checks related to Gateway Pundit.
The website frequently appears on the vaccine misinformation dashboard as well. The website generates considerable revenue, well over one million dollars per year.
Outlet | Fact check rating | Report |
THIP Healthtech Pvt Ltd | not_credible | |
THIP Healthtech Pvt Ltd | not_credible | |
AFP fact-checking | uncertain | |
AFP fact-checking | not_credible | |
AFP fact-checking | not_credible | |
AFP fact-checking | not_credible | |
AFP fact-checking | not_credible | |
AFP fact-checking | not_credible | |
AFP fact-checking | not_credible | |
Facta | not_verifiable | |
THIP Healthtech Pvt Ltd | not_credible | |
THIP Healthtech Pvt Ltd | not_credible | |
AFP fact-checking | not_credible | |
AFP fact-checking | not_credible | |
Facta | not_verifiable |
Newsguard also rates Gateway Pundit as unreliable, and it has had scores anywhere from 20/100 to 36.5/100, well below a passing grade. Several studies have included this website, and those can be found here.
The Post Millennial
Post Millennial correctly points out that Bankman-Fried donated to Democratic candidates, but it neglects to add that 75% of the donation instances were allocated toward primaries. That makes the claim they played any role in the 2022 mid-term elections less plausible.
- Media Bias Fact Check rates this outlet as mixed reliability for “publishing unsubstantiated claims and having several failed fact checks.”
- Post Millennial did not identify what funds, if any, it suspects were misappropriated.
Ukraine invested into FTX as the Biden administration funneled funds to the invaded nation, and FTX then made massive donations to Democrats in the US.
In the case of the claim reviewed here, it’s unsubstantiated too. The website has an extensive history of publishing misleading or false claims about vaccines and COVID-19. According to a Canadian news investigation, the staff have openly campaigned for political officers, and the transparency about the group's political ties is poor.
The outlet does little original reporting and seems to aggregate and editorialize reporting from other outlets. Post Millennial appears to have attempted to improve its practices, although the lack of transparency about any potential political work (not simply having someone you support but working on a campaign trail, for example) is traditionally considered an ethical violation.
Examples of misleading content
Daily Wire author states that the firm has ties to Democrats, which is accurate; however, Bankman-Fried also donated to Republicans, which makes this misleading. The article also doesn’t demonstrate how Ukraine relates to the election or provide evidence for that. While it is true that FTX offered to process crypto donations for Ukraine, the relationship doesn’t appear to have gone beyond that.
Daily Wire also doesn’t consider any other clients of FTX, seeming to cherry-pick a relationship that doesn’t have relevance without evidence. The headline orders the names “Biden, Ukraine, and FTX,” but the first two aren’t necessarily relevant reporting elements unless the author includes all donations from Bankman-Fried, which you can see here. The three named parties are also in the graphic, framing unrelated items together.
Another misleading mention came from Jesse Watters on Fox News. The subtitle reads, “The Democratic Party was getting rich off of FTX, Jesse Watters says.” This headline is mostly false. As stated earlier, Bankman-Fried donated to both parties. It’s unclear why only one would warrant an investigation if it requires that. Further, Watters’ statement makes it possible to interpret that FTX somehow enriches actual party members. Hoaxlines reviewed donations from Bankman-Fried. This framing is unjustified because billionaire donors gave four times more money to Republicans.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence
Hoaxlines requires “extraordinary claims” to offer “extraordinary evidence. These articles make vague, general allusions to corrupt people and suspicious things without forming a claim that can be assessed.
People vary in how prone they are to associate items with no connection. Those who do so more readily may be more likely to accept conspiracy theories. Without more evidence, this appears to be a case of seeing connections or meaning where none exists, apophenia.
Apophenia, also known as patternicity, means seeing patterns in random events. It also applies when people deduce meaning from numbers, images, shapes, or any other objects that are truly random.This phenomenon is very common. We routinely look for patterns and are predisposed to finding patterns, even when there are none.
Logical fallacies, rhetoric, and cognitive vulnerabilities
Data void
- In no case were we able to find a justification for the claims, and some, such as the arguments in The Gateway Pundit, are predicated on a lack of understanding of what caused FTX to go bankrupt. This exploits what is known as a data void. In the same way, search engine data voids can be exploited, so too can common blind spots in public knowledge, as we see with science-related conspiracy theories.
The Big Lie
- While there are extraordinary general claims, none have provided clear arguments and appeal to dogma. The presentation is a patchwork of unrelated facts to suggest an association. There are no specific claims related to Ukraine other than money going somewhere.
Data void
- Gateway Pundit begins its article by saying, “Did you ever wonder where all those billions of dollars were going in Ukraine?” Hoaxlines recently addressed claims about aid to Ukraine, which is heavily audited. This is a standard knowledge gap for the public.
Mimicry
- GP attempts to verify a claim, saying, “This information was shared on Twitter and we can confirm from our sources that this is accurate.” The sources aren’t explained, nor are the alleged details provided by the sources. The article included an embed from a new Twitter account spreading vaccine conspiracy theories. The style and language mimic journalism but ultimately fail to uphold the same ethical standards.
Biased framing
- The author frames Ukraine accepting donations through FTX, which processed donations to Ukraine from private donors, as related to aid from the US government. The articles seem to justify the unsubstantiated association because of proximity, but since they do not conclude that other concurrent events were related, it seems subjective and unjustifiable. Additionally, timing is not a reliable measure of association in this context.