Politically biased language in Issues

[Sfyr]

I'm new here, but the bias is so bad, I feel like walking away from the whole site, and I imagine I'm not alone. This is unfortunate considering the work and design that's gone into making such a complex idea enjoyable and available. I completely understand tongue-in-cheek, satire, and the playful nature of the game, however, I'm concerned about language of issues and options.

From the "How To Write An Issue" post (emphasis added):

The description is a brief and neutral summary of the problem at hand.

From #40:

@@NAME@@ has a developing problem with poor literacy rates among 12-18 year olds, which many parents and teachers blame on the current state of the education system and lack of government funding.

Why would my citizens and teachers blame poor education on government funding? This is a huge assumption. In fact, it presupposes an answer (more funding from the government). Only a inherently socialist nation would have this as a core belief.

Shouldn't this be:

"@@NAME@@ has a developing problem with poor literacy rates among 12-18 year olds and difficulty in college preparedness, which many parents and teachers blame on a lack of primary education.

Moreover, the options from this Issue are insultingly biased with all but #2 being grotesquely stereotypical and mocking towards anyone with a non-socialist, big-government picture of economics.

1. [...] Who gives a damn? Makes ‘em easier to turn into brainwashed grunts anyhow! You don’t need to be able to read in order to fire a gun! What we need to do is focus on our military spending - what does it matter if you can read or not when you’re overrun by warmongering barbarians?

2. [...] This is shocking news. If the children of tomorrow cannot read, then what? Next thing you know, we’ll be speaking ebonics! The government must devote more efforts to education! Where will we be twenty years from now with an overflow of unskilled labor?

3. [...] why not issue government vouchers so that parents can afford to send their children to privately run schools? We offer a far better education than the public schools. All we do is grind our particular religious views into our students!

4. “Who needs some fancy-schmancy cash-draining school system, anyway?” @@RANDOMNAME@@ declares from the front steps of a double-wide mobile home, shotgun in hand. “My Pa raised me and my eight brothers and three sisters without no waste of time schoolin’! My Pa taught me everythin’ I need t’know, let all these whippersnappers’ Mas and Pas teach ‘em what they need t’know!”

I highlight only one Issue here amongst dozens, but this bias exists amongst the vast majority of issues I've been served (and scanning through the Spoiler list of Issues as well). Some are genuinely neutral and but the majority are so twisted it's insulting to a non-socialist.

Is the goal of NationStates to promote civic awareness and discussion of ideas, or to condition and indoctrinate players into global Communism through stereotyping ridicule of Capitalism and small government?

[Phrenics]

Is the goal of NationStates to promote civic awareness and discussion of ideas, or to condition and indoctrinate players into global Communism through stereotyping ridicule of Capitalism and small government?

Hooray, another edgy extrapolation!

[Reutoa]

Issues are given to Nations based on its stats it gets at the beginning of its life.

Also: You will always get other issues, if you don't like them, then just dissmiss it.

Or just "leave the site"

[Arctica-Aleutia]

You'll find that a lot of issues poke fun at left-wing economics too. There's satire mixed in in a lot of places.

The creator of the site, Max Barry, says he doesn't try to be biased but that it's possible he has been unintentionally. A lot of the issues are made by the community, so levels of bias vary. Nobody's perfect.

[Lowell Leber]

It is a game. That somewhat reflects its owner Max Berry's views. That said I am of the Alt-Right of the political spectrum and I enjoy and learn from interacting with those of vastly different viewpoints within the great community that is Nationstates.

[Nouveau Yathrib]

I'm new here, but the bias is so bad, I feel like walking away from the whole site, and I imagine I'm not alone. This is unfortunate considering the work and design that's gone into making such a complex idea enjoyable and available. I completely understand tongue-in-cheek, satire, and the playful nature of the game, however, I'm concerned about language of issues and options.

From the "How To Write An Issue" post (emphasis added):

The description is a brief and neutral summary of the problem at hand.

From #40:

@@NAME@@ has a developing problem with poor literacy rates among 12-18 year olds, which many parents and teachers blame on the current state of the education system and lack of government funding.

Why would my citizens and teachers blame poor education on government funding? This is a huge assumption. In fact, it presupposes an answer (more funding from the government). Only a inherently socialist nation would have this as a core belief.

Shouldn't this be:

"@@NAME@@ has a developing problem with poor literacy rates among 12-18 year olds and difficulty in college preparedness, which many parents and teachers blame on a lack of primary education.

Moreover, the options from this Issue are insultingly biased with all but #2 being grotesquely stereotypical and mocking towards anyone with a non-socialist, big-government picture of economics.

1. [...] Who gives a damn? Makes ‘em easier to turn into brainwashed grunts anyhow! You don’t need to be able to read in order to fire a gun! What we need to do is focus on our military spending - what does it matter if you can read or not when you’re overrun by warmongering barbarians?

2. [...] This is shocking news. If the children of tomorrow cannot read, then what? Next thing you know, we’ll be speaking ebonics! The government must devote more efforts to education! Where will we be twenty years from now with an overflow of unskilled labor?

3. [...] why not issue government vouchers so that parents can afford to send their children to privately run schools? We offer a far better education than the public schools. All we do is grind our particular religious views into our students!

4. “Who needs some fancy-schmancy cash-draining school system, anyway?” @@RANDOMNAME@@ declares from the front steps of a double-wide mobile home, shotgun in hand. “My Pa raised me and my eight brothers and three sisters without no waste of time schoolin’! My Pa taught me everythin’ I need t’know, let all these whippersnappers’ Mas and Pas teach ‘em what they need t’know!”

I highlight only one Issue here amongst dozens, but this bias exists amongst the vast majority of issues I've been served (and scanning through the Spoiler list of Issues as well). Some are genuinely neutral and but the majority are so twisted it's insulting to a non-socialist.

Is the goal of NationStates to promote civic awareness and discussion of ideas, or to condition and indoctrinate players into global Communism through stereotyping ridicule of Capitalism and small government?

I don't see how government funding for public education is incompatible with capitalism or small government. You can't reasonably expect to have a citizenry that appreciates the value of hard work, entrepreneurship, and free markets without a functional education system to promote those ideas.

[Sfyr]

I don't see how government funding for public education is incompatible with capitalism or small government. You can't reasonably expect to have a citizenry that appreciates the value of hard work, entrepreneurship, and free markets without a functional education system to promote those ideas.

This makes my point, actually; it's a foregone assumption that education is the responsibility of the government. Why? This hasn't always been the case, isn't the case in many places in the world. Before 1867, the US had no federal education funding, and increasingly it's becoming a question (at least in the USA where huge politically-friendly educational funding is gobbled up by teacher unions with very little increase in resulting education quality.)

Of course NS is a game, and of *course* I like to discuss with differing opinions! In fact, I would be just as critical of an Issue saying: "@@NAME@@ allegedly has a problem with poor literacy rates among 12-18 year olds which teacher unions are trying to use as an excuse to increase their funding.

Reporting the facts is neutral, spin and bias are propaganda. It's concerning that this isn't more obvious.

[Jueia]

I don't see how government funding for public education is incompatible with capitalism or small government. You can't reasonably expect to have a citizenry that appreciates the value of hard work, entrepreneurship, and free markets without a functional education system to promote those ideas.

This makes my point, actually; it's a foregone assumption that education is the responsibility of the government. Why? This hasn't always been the case, isn't the case in many places in the world. Before 1867, the US had no federal education funding, and increasingly it's becoming a question (at least in the USA where huge politically-friendly educational funding is gobbled up by teacher unions with very little increase in resulting education quality.)

Of course NS is a game, and of *course* I like to discuss with differing opinions! In fact, I would be just as critical of an Issue saying: "@@NAME@@ allegedly has a problem with poor literacy rates among 12-18 year olds which teacher unions are trying to use as an excuse to increase their funding.

Reporting the facts is neutral, spin and bias are propaganda. It's concerning that this isn't more obvious.

NS has a huge nest of leftists and rightists, so you can expect to see Politically motivated issues like this or any other issue you could get

[Drasnia]

I mean, I suppose there is a certain amount of bias in issues, but you're never going to get rid of it. The editors are good people who try to make it as neutral as they can, but everybody has some unconscious bias. In this case, I think it comes in the form of it being easier to mock people you disagree and considering our editing is majority very left-leaning, there will probably be a bit more satire in right-wing options.

But I've said it before here in GI and I'll say it again: the editors aren't trying to be biased. They don't want to make everybody pick the same option to somehow validate their political views. When you've been here long enough and interacted with them a lot, you understand that the first thing they care about and what they put above all else is balance. Making an issue that is well-balanced in relation to how many pick each option as well as the dismissal rate is by far the most challenging part of issue writing. And challenge is what makes writing and editing enjoyable.

So yeah, there's potentially a bit of bias, but that doesn't make your political views any less legitimate.

[Nouveau Yathrib]

I don't see how government funding for public education is incompatible with capitalism or small government. You can't reasonably expect to have a citizenry that appreciates the value of hard work, entrepreneurship, and free markets without a functional education system to promote those ideas.

This makes my point, actually; it's a foregone assumption that education is the responsibility of the government. Why? This hasn't always been the case, isn't the case in many places in the world. Before 1867, the US had no federal education funding, and increasingly it's becoming a question (at least in the USA where huge politically-friendly educational funding is gobbled up by teacher unions with very little increase in resulting education quality.)

Of course NS is a game, and of *course* I like to discuss with differing opinions! In fact, I would be just as critical of an Issue saying: "@@NAME@@ allegedly has a problem with poor literacy rates among 12-18 year olds which teacher unions are trying to use as an excuse to increase their funding.

Reporting the facts is neutral, spin and bias are propaganda. It's concerning that this isn't more obvious.

Realistically most people would want their government to have some involvement in ensuring that their citizens are properly educated, even if it's as little as setting standards for private schools to adhere to.

[Sfyr]

Realistically most people would want their government to have some involvement in ensuring that their citizens are properly educated, even if it's as little as setting standards for private schools to adhere to.

Nooooo! That's biased. I even personally agree that yes, setting standards etc. is a natural role of government, and yes, recognize my own pro-small-government bias. However, I think people have been conditioned to think it's the role of government because it's a politically 'safe' thing to vote for and it grows constantly. (The US Constition doesn't mention it at all, and many of the authors were extremely well-educated, and recognized the value of education.)

"Our children aren't literate enough, and citizens are crying for better education." is unbiased. Assuming it's the government role is biased. Assuming it's just teacher unions wanting to gain power is biased.

Sorry to beat a dead horse, and I only used this example because it's the most obvious of the dozen or so that furrowed my brow. I know it's difficult to write neutrally to keep the spirit of a clean dilemma, but it seems to be a skill lost in society generally *cough* journalism.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

I agree with you Sfyr, and that was an excellent and well-reasoned example.

Even though I'm strongly on the left in politics and economics, I frequently find myself as an arguer for right wing views being presented in a more reasonable light, with less assumption of left wing correctness. I absolutely agree the issue you present has a sizeable leftward bias in its presentation, and many issues do seem to go that way, especially within the first 400 or so issues. For example, right now we're editing an issue where the author is clearly left wing, and presented the right wing journalist as a detrimental caricature while the left wing view is presented by a reasoned intellectual, and the introduction itself almost declares them to be morally correct.

We've found ourselves - as a lefty team - doing a lot of rewriting of that issue to make it more right wing acceptable.

Likewise, while I'm strongly pro-transgender recognition, one of my favourite pieces of work was when we revisited Transgender Recognition Demanded, and added in an option that was both right wing AND sane, which the issue previously entirely lacked. I'm also very happy with Ransium's treatment of #720 Cui Bono, which I based on stories I'd read in right wing media, and which Ransium actually moved the presentation a little leftwards, as my authoring of that issue seemed to assume that it was true that welfare was funding terrorism, rather than simply reporting that it was reported.

Regarding the description you flag:

@@NAME@@ has a developing problem with poor literacy rates among 12-18 year olds, which many parents and teachers blame on the current state of the education system and lack of government funding.

This is lightly biased, as you say, though I think the saving grace here is the word "many", which could be read as "some" rather than as "all".

"Some" would probably have been closer to neutral, however, and in modern issue writing would advise an author to drop that line from the opening, and keep assertions of a position to the options themselves.

An eye for bias is a good thing, and I appreciate your efforts here. I also am always searching for biases in our issue base, and striving to minimise them, especially when that means moving an issue AWAY from my own political views.

My advice to you would be to keep reviewing and flagging stuff in a reasoned and literate way, as you are doing now, and to keep the conversation going. Also, while it's not necessary to be an author to have a voice, authoring is one of the best ways you can try and promote a story shape that you would prefer. Obviously no-one is going to accept writing that is deliberately skewed to the right, but if you can create issues that do a better job of neutrality than our existing ones, then I would love to help you publish them.

[Sfyr]

Even though I'm strongly on the left in politics and economics, I frequently find myself as an arguer for right wing views being presented in a more reasonable light, with less assumption of left wing correctness. I absolutely agree the issue you present has a sizeable leftward bias in its presentation, and many issues do seem to go that way, especially within the first 400 or so issues. For example, right now we're editing an issue where the author is clearly left wing, and presented the right wing journalist as a detrimental caricature while the left wing view is presented by a reasoned intellectual, and the introduction itself almost declares them to be morally correct.

We've found ourselves - as a lefty team - doing a lot of rewriting of that issue to make it more right wing acceptable.

Thanks for your thoughts! I agree completely. As much fun as it is to beat the drum in an echo chamber, it's never productive. NS as a vehicle seems amazing for moving enlightenment on both sides forward and it's terrible to waste it trying to promote views that will simply be ignored. (re: "acceptable" -it's 'accurate' that I think most care about - I don't get offended easily as long as there's fair treatment - a nice mix of wackos and reasonable arguments from both sides is ideal IMO; let farce, caricature, and ridicule fly with the wackos! )

I'm an economic conservative, but socially liberal and an atheist, so have no love lost with the right-wing establishment but I find it most effective show their best logical arguments on parade. I think increasingly, political friction is caused by sound-bite media replacing reasoned arguments. Most people vehemently defend idiologies they can't define.

An eye for bias is a good thing, and I appreciate your efforts here. I also am always searching for biases in our issue base, and striving to minimise them, especially when that means moving an issue AWAY from my own political views.

My advice to you would be to keep reviewing and flagging stuff in a reasoned and literate way, as you are doing now, and to keep the conversation going. Also, while it's not necessary to be an author to have a voice, authoring is one of the best ways you can try and promote a story shape that you would prefer. Obviously no-one is going to accept writing that is deliberately skewed to the right, but if you can create issues that do a better job of neutrality than our existing ones, then I would love to help you publish them.

I really appreciate it. I agree minimizing bias is the 'higher calling' of political intellectuals (oxymoron?). I'll certainly look into writing / editing as time allows; skew is of little value, writing a nice neutral scenario that sheds light on charged situations is healthy, however! I'm just getting started but as I get my dictatorial (presidential?) footing, I'll see what I can do to help.

[Fauxia]

You'll find that a lot of issues poke fun at left-wing economics too. There's satire mixed in in a lot of places.

The creator of the site, Max Barry, says he doesn't try to be biased but that it's possible he has been unintentionally. A lot of the issues are made by the community, so levels of bias vary. Nobody's perfect.

Worth noting that the site's creator describes himself as "definitely" pro-capitalism, he describes himself as a centrist

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Also worth noting that the site's creator doesn't direct or control issue narratives, that's left to our editing team and community of authors. Any biases in the stories told are those of our community, not of the game's creator.

Though of course, any biases inherent to the game engine, that's all the game creator.

[Slavaiasa]

"or to condition and indoctrinate players into global Communism through stereotyping ridicule of Capitalism and small government?"

Personally I think this is what it should be for

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Ha! An agenda like that sounds too much like hard work.

I just wanna tell and be told stories. I like stories.