The Very Reasonable Driving Habits of Christian Men

Christian Man Persecuted Simply For Driving 90 Miles Per Hour In School Zone

A Christian man?? Arrested?! Surely, our justice system has failed us. This satirical piece pokes fun at how news headlines can mislead an audience to believe something untrue. For example, that this man was targeted by the police because of his religious identity and not for the fact he was driving fast enough to effectively smush a child in his path. Although this article was written for satirical purposes, this effect, called ‘headline bias”, can have dangerous consequences when used to garner support for the wrong people. For example, in the world of news articles that proliferate rape culture, subtle changes in a perpetrator’s identity can question the credibility of victims or imply that they gave consent when they, in fact, did not— which all shapes whether a survivor is believed by the public or not. Instead of stating the name of a rapist, news articles could name the perpetrator a ‘hardworking student’ that was ‘accused’ by a mentally ‘unwell individual’. Or a ‘promising athlete’ whose career could be hindered by these ‘mysterious allegations’. Rewinding to this particular article however, headline bias is exaggerated and as clear as day to critique news sites who use it. Take this quote for example: “At press time, reports confirmed Weller had been tossed into a jail cell just like Christians centuries ago had been thrown into the lion’s den.” For many criminal cases covered by news sources, it is becoming increasingly hard to differentiate what is real and what is fake. Sliding by with slim wording technicalities, many are able to keep their reputation ‘trustworthy’ even when fulfilling their hidden agendas behind the scenes. You may read this article and immediately be able to point out the clear bias that resides within it, but it may surprise you how many people would read this article in news sources they trust and not blink an eye.