NewsBreak Original

The adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me,” might be true in the physical sense, but we all know they can certainly injure feelings. If you have not noticed it yet, they can and have been used, or “weaponized,” to influence culture and public opinion on issues.

The much-anticipated summer Nielsen ratings for the month of August are in. here’s what they showed. Fox News topped the monthly ratings, yet again, as The Five was once again ranked as number one in total viewers and Tucker Carlson Tonight won the adults 25-54 demographic in August.

So often we want the results obtained to conform to our own desired outcomes. This bias is known as Confirmation Bias. Confirmation bias is, according to Investopedia, "the tendency of human beings to actively search for, interpret, and retain information that matches their preconceived notions and beliefs."

Growing up in America, I admittedly rarely paid attention to politics. I never used to evaluate the credibility of media sources, and never considered how truth can be perceived — and spun — in different ways. In the United States, much of the information dispersed by media is sensationalistic and based on opinion.