If you're going to make informed decisions, financial or otherwise, it's important to get your facts straight – something you might not be achieving, depending on who you turn to for news.

More than a decade ago, the Christian Science Monitor recently ran a story called Are you smarter than a Fox News viewer? How about a CNN viewer? based on a survey conducted in 2010 by WorldPublicOpinion.org and Knowledge Networks.

I wrote an article about it, but not because of politics. I wrote it because investors need to be especially concerned about separating truth from fiction, and facts from opinion. Being uninformed or ill-informed as an investor can be expensive.

For example, here's one of the questions asked in the WorldPublicOpinion survey: It concerns the Great Recession, which began just before Obama took office.

As you know, the American economy had a major downturn starting in the fall of 2008. Do you think that now the American economy is:
A. Starting to recover.
B. Still getting worse.

This question was posed late in 2010. How would you have answered? More than half of overall news viewers thought the economy was still getting worse. But nearly three quarters of Fox viewers thought it was getting worse.

The truth? The economic recovery began in the third quarter of 2009, so it was into recovery mode in 2010, when this question was asked.

Many of the stocks I own today were purchased in the spring and summer of 2009, when the economy was bottoming out. Presumably those who thought the economy was getting worse were on the sidelines in their 401(k)s or other investments. I made a ton of money by accessing unbiased facts.

This is one of many examples of how slanted news, whether on the right or the left, can make otherwise informed investors uniformed.

That's what this week's "Money!" podcast is about. We're going to talk about how to determine whether the news you're consuming, financial or otherwise, is reliable enough to put your money where somebody else's mouth is.

Want more information? Check out these resources:
Can Watching TV News Make You Stupid?
Why House Hunters Shouldn't Watch HGTV's ‘House Hunters'
Despite TV's Obsession With Pawnshops, They're Still Last Resort.
Kiplinger: 7 Tips to Help Spot 'Fake' Financial News
University of West Florida: Tips for Avoiding Fake News
Cornell: Fake News, Propaganda, and Disinformation: Learning to Critically Evaluate Media Sources
Money Talks News' savings account search tool
Subscribe to the Money Talks News newsletter
Take our course The Only Retirement Guide You'll Ever Need
Take our course Money Made Simple
Miranda Marquit's website

 

If you're going to make informed decisions, financial or otherwise, it's important to get your facts straight &ndash; something you might not be achieving, depending on who you turn to for news.
More than a decade ago, the Christian Science Monitor recently ran a story called <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/1221/Are-you-smarter-than-a-Fox-News-viewer-How-about-a-CNN-viewer-Take-our-quiz-to-find-out/">Are you smarter than a Fox News viewer? How about a CNN viewer?</a> based on a survey conducted in 2010 by WorldPublicOpinion.org and Knowledge Networks.
I wrote an article about it, but not because of politics. I wrote it because investors need to be especially concerned about separating truth from fiction, and facts from opinion. Being uninformed or ill-informed as an investor can be expensive.
For example, here's one of the questions asked in the WorldPublicOpinion survey: It concerns the <a href="https://www.moneytalksnews.com/4-crucial-financial-lessons-from-the-great-recession/">Great Recession</a>, which began just before Obama took office.
<blockquote>
As you know, the American economy had a major downturn starting in the fall of 2008. Do you think that now the American economy is: A. Starting to recover. B. Still getting worse.
</blockquote>
This question was posed late in 2010. How would you have answered? More than half of overall news viewers thought the economy was still getting worse. But nearly three quarters of Fox viewers thought it was getting worse.
The truth? The economic recovery began in the third quarter of 2009, so it was into recovery mode in 2010, when this question was asked.
Many of the stocks I own today were purchased in the spring and summer of 2009, when the economy was bottoming out. Presumably those who thought the economy was getting worse were on the sidelines in their 401(k)s or other investments. I made a ton of money by accessing unbiased facts.
This is one of many examples of how slanted news, whether on the right or the left, can make otherwise informed investors uniformed.
That's what this week's <a href="https://www.moneytalksnews.com/podcasts/">"Money!" podcast</a> is about. We're going to talk about how to determine whether the news you're consuming, financial or otherwise, is reliable enough to put your money where somebody else's mouth is.
Want more information? Check out these resources:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.moneytalksnews.com/can-you-trust-tv-news/">Can Watching TV News Make You Stupid?</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.moneytalksnews.com/2012/01/19/why-house-hunters-shouldn%e2%80%99t-watch-hgtvs-house-hunters/">Why House Hunters Shouldn't Watch HGTV's &lsquo;House Hunters'</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.moneytalksnews.com/2012/01/25/despite-tvs-obsession-with-pawn-shops-theyre-still-last-resort/">Despite TV's Obsession With Pawnshops, They're Still Last Resort.</a></li>
<li>Kiplinger: <a href="https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/retirement/t064-s014-7-tips-to-help-spot-fake-financial-news/index.html">7 Tips to Help Spot 'Fake' Financial News</a></li>
<li>University of West Florida: <a href="https://libguides.uwf.edu/c.php?g=609513&amp;p=4274530">Tips for Avoiding Fake News</a></li>
<li>Cornell: <a href="https://guides.library.cornell.edu/evaluate_news">Fake News, Propaganda, and Disinformation: Learning to Critically Evaluate Media Sources</a></li>
<li>Money Talks News' <a href="https://www.moneytalksnews.com/rates/savings/">savings account search tool</a></li>
<li>Subscribe to the <a href="https://www.moneytalksnews.com/#newsletter">Money Talks News newsletter</a></li>
<li>Take our course <a href="https://unb.moneytalksnews.com/retirement-guide/">The Only Retirement Guide You'll Ever Need</a></li>
<li>Take our course <a href="https://www.moneytalksnews.com/courses/money-made-simple/">Money Made Simple</a></li>
<li><a href="http://mirandamarquit.com/">Miranda Marquit's website</a></li>
</ul>
&nbsp;

Welcome to Money Talks News: The Podcast, a podcast devoted to everything money: how to get it, how to grow it and how to keep it. From the creators of MoneyTalksNews.com, a leading source of personal finance news and advice since 1991.

Welcome to Money Talks News: The Podcast, a podcast devoted to everything money: how to get it, how to grow it and how to keep it. From the creators of MoneyTalksNews.com, a leading source of personal finance news and advice since 1991.

Money Talks News: The Podcast

How to Become an Expert at Spotting Fake News

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/67ee9ddc-11a3-4cec-841d-ac9a015d5b41/clips/efa88348-43fe-48a5-8025-ad4f00d2c655/transcript

Transcript

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