Rational Ground - Bias and Credibility

QUESTIONABLE SOURCE

A questionable source exhibits one or more of the following: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda/conspiracies, poor or no sourcing to credible information, a complete lack of transparency, and/or is fake news. Fake News is the deliberate attempt to publish hoaxes and/or disinformation for profit or influence (Learn More). Sources listed in the Questionable Category may be very untrustworthy and should be fact-checked on a per article basis. Please note sources on this list are not considered fake news unless specifically written in the reasoning section for that source. See all Questionable sources.

Overall, we rate Rational Ground right biased and Questionable based on a lack of transparency, poor sourcing, and false or misleading information regarding the coronavirus that does not align with the consensus of science.

Detailed Report

Reasoning: Lack of Transparency, Poor Sourcing, False/Misleading Claims
Bias Rating: RIGHT
Factual Reporting: MIXED
Country: USA
Press Freedom Rating: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Website
Traffic/Popularity: Minimal Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: LOW CREDIBILITY

History

Founded in 2020, Rational Ground is a website and newsletter that covers the impacts and response to the Coronavirus from a right-leaning skeptical perspective. According to their about page, they are “Providing a variety of resources on the current crisis regarding COVID-19.” On their page titled A Rational Path Forward “The American public has shown a level of compliance with deeply disruptive public health measures that would have been unthinkable just 10 months ago. That compliance has been squandered on an unrealistic and unachievable goal of “stopping the spread.”

Rational Ground lacks transparency as they do not disclose ownership or editors. They do provide Twitter links to contributors.

Read our profile on the United States government and media.

Funded by / Ownership

Rational Ground lacks transparency as they do not clearly state ownership. However, according to some outlets, the website was founded by Justin Hart, who is a Data Expert. It is not clear why he is an expert in data. Funding for the website is not disclosed; however, they do sell subscriptions to generate revenue.

Analysis / Bias

In review, the website provides news and analysis on the Coronavirus, lockdowns, mask use, and statistical outcomes related to the virus. Rational Ground features categories such as Resources, which provides links to “Mask Facts” and how to write letters to re-open schools. They also offer a 10 step approach on how to get things back to normal. This approach is based on The Great Barrington Declaration from the Libertarian Think Tank, The American Institute for Economic Research. Scientists have criticized the Great Barrington Declaration as being dangerous and controversial. Rational Ground’s 10 steps are as follows:

Communicate the age-stratified fatality rates: In other words, emphasize that the disease is more deadly for the elderly.
Re-think the testing strategy: Stop testing Asymptomatic Individuals.
Stop quarantining healthy people.
Restore in-person schooling and normal activities for children
Acknowledge that all work and institutions are essential
Recognize naturally-acquired immunity
Require that mandates be supported by evidence and balanced against their costs
Report COVID-primary hospitalization data clearly and in the context of previous flu seasons
Keep separate statistics for deaths “from” and “with” COVID
Limit the emergency powers of government

The website also provides data and charts for subscribers and news through a newsletter. The information in the newsletter provides a summary of covid-19 news followed by a link to another source. We found that they generally utilize credible sources such as NPR, Reuters, the Associated Press, and scientific journals. However, they also reference poor sources such as the Questionable Daily Mail and Mixed factual such as the Mises Institute and The Guardian. For the most part, the newsletters link to credible 3rd party information.

Editorially, they provide commentary that aligns with the Libertarian Right and sometimes promotes misinformation such as this: After nine months, we still know masks don’t work. While it is true that Masks do not offer 100% protection, they are shown to decrease the spread of Covid-19 infections. Further, in an entirely unsourced op-ed titled The burden of proof, they argue that Lockdowns do not work. While some of the information in this op-ed may be true, there is no single hyperlinked source where the reader can verify the significant amount of data presented. However, according to studies, there is strong evidence that Lockdowns do slow Covid-19 transmission. Again, Rational Ground bases their arguments around the Great Barrington Declaration, which has been criticized for containing falsehoods and being dangerous. In general, Rational Ground provides a mix of factual news stories and misleading or false right biased information.

Failed Fact Checks

None in the Last 5 years. See above for indirect examples.

Overall, we rate Rational Ground right biased and Questionable based on a lack of transparency, poor sourcing, and false or misleading information regarding the coronavirus that does not align with the consensus of science. (D. Van Zandt 2/2/2021) Updated (10/23/2021)

Source: rationalground.com

Last Updated on June 30, 2023 by Media Bias Fact Check