In my opinion, politicians and the media often offer opinion as fact. So what? Are the damages of this really a big deal? I believe they can be, and I’ll go through 9 damages I see from offering opinion as fact.
But first, what’s the difference between opinions and facts? According to merriam-webster.com, an opinion is “a view, judgement, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter,” while a fact is “a piece of information presented as having objective reality.” Also, according to the Student Learning Center at Palm Beach State: “a fact is a statement that can be verified. It can be proven true or false through objective evidence. An opinion is a statement that expresses a feeling, an attitude, a value judgement, or a belief. It is a statement that is neither true nor false. Or it may feel true for some, but false for others.”
I believe separating fact from opinion can sometimes be more difficult than it sounds. For example, some opinions that color how we interpret facts can be subtly introduced, such as by a single word in an otherwise factual sentence. For instance, “Trump tweeted, ‘I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!’” is a fact. Changing one word introduces opinion: “Trump fumed, ‘I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!’” Was that really Trump fuming, or expressing a lot of anger? It could’ve been, but it’s a judgement call, or opinion, as to whether it was. As a listener and a reader, then, be on the lookout for even single words that can slip some opinion into what otherwise would be factual statements.
With the above definitions of fact and opinion in mind, and some idea of the difficulties in separating them, here’s a list of 9 damages I believe can result from offering opinion as fact:
- People may trust you less because of it. This is because offering opinion as fact misleads by misrepresenting reality. It’s misrepresenting opinion to be something it’s not.
- When politicians and the media offer opinion as fact, it adds to cynicism about politicians and the media. How nice would it be if politicians spoke honorably and we weren’t cynical about them? And how great would it be if we felt we could trust the media to present the facts without coloring them with their own opinions?
- When opinion is offered as fact, it limits people’s abilities to make the most well-informed, reality-based decisions – they may accept the opinion as fact and not question it, but even if they don’t, it takes extra time and effort to sort the opinion from the fact, thus taking away from time and effort the person could be putting into considering other factors to make their best decision in a given situation.
- It promotes fear and anger-based rather than critical thinking-based decision-making, which limits people’s options for making the best decisions for them. When someone presents opinion as fact, I believe sometimes they may just be being lazy or mindless – not wanting to put in the extra effort it takes to identify one’s opinion. More often, though, I think there’s some anger or fear behind the opinion. And when they spread fear and anger as if it were fact, it may make others more likely to let this fear and anger affect their decision making, which I don’t believe is generally a good thing.
- It leaves less room for people to form and advocate for their own opinions. When you offer opinion as fact, it’s kind of like saying your opinion is so right it’s unquestionable. But a wider range of opinions could, in theory, lead to healthier debate, which could in turn lead to better outcomes. And what if you’re wrong? Wouldn’t you want someone to challenge your opinion so bad things don’t happen on account of you being wrong? What if you’re wrong about someone’s guilt or innocence, or the likelihood of a disease spreading and people dying, for instance? Your words can have real consequences on people’s lives. When you say, “In my opinion” or “I believe,” it acknowledges that there’s some doubt that what you’re saying is absolutely right, or somehow right for everyone.
- It’s disrespectful – it’s kind of like saying, “you can’t think for yourself, so I’ll do it for you.” Even if you believe your cognitive abilities to be far superior to others’, don’t you think there’s room for people to improve, and wouldn’t you want to help them develop their critical thinking skills? It seems to me like it would be more likely to lead to the most long-term value building in the world.
- It promotes people being less able to discern opinion from fact because these two are presented as the same thing, on equal footing. According to a 2017 survey, whose results are on statista.com, 25% of people said they had ever argued facts in a malicious way online – and the same percentage said they had argued opinions maliciously – is this because they knowingly argued both facts and opinions, or because some of them aren’t sure what the difference is? If people are less able to discern opinion from fact, they may be more likely to treat the two the same. So, for instance, in the same way they don’t agree with your opinions, they don’t have to agree with your facts, right? I mean, you didn’t differentiate between the two, so…
- It can be more difficult to defend against opinion presented as fact. This might seem nice if you’re arguing for your side, but what if it’s used against you? Opinions can’t be defended against in the same way as facts, meaning they can’t be proven false. So if you say, for instance, that Trump “fumed” when he tweeted he won, all I can do is say that’s your opinion and it’s not provable as true or false. Whereas if you said Trump “tweeted” that he lost, I’d be able to provide evidence, through the original tweet, that that fact was false.
- It goes against one’s conscience because it, in a way, is dishonest and cheating to try to get what you want in a conversation. This gets back to #1 on this list of people trusting you less. You’re also likely to trust yourself less, especially to act in a way that’s ultimately in line with your conscience.
Those are 9 types of damages I believe can occur when people offer opinion as fact. Even though presenting opinion as fact may seem, on the surface, to be a minor thing, I believe in certain cases it can cause significant damage, especially when it’s amplified over the internet. To avoid the risk of damage, I suggest saying, “in my opinion,” “I believe,” “I think,” or a number of other possible phrases whenever you’re expressing your opinion.