Behind the Scenes of an “Unbiased” Women’s Magazine
Dangerous conspiracy theories, disinformation, and aggressive political bias
While the internet can be a resource to educate, it can also deceive innocent users with disinformation. Websites can easily disguise themselves as unbiased when in reality, they cater to a specific political agenda.
How can you spot disinformation out in the wild? How can you learn to verify the accuracy of what you read online?
The first time I heard of Evie Magazine was through an ad on Twitter, spotted through the corner of my eye. “An unbiased women’s magazine that focuses on health, beauty, and relationships,” it read. I expected fun articles that covered the latest fashion, makeup, and fitness trends, without any political agenda whatsoever.
I could not have been more wrong.
Through its aggressive marketing as an “unbiased source of truth,” Evie Magazine tricks people into thinking that it is a factual news site. A quick glance at the magazine’s homepage and a quick read through some of the articles (written at a middle school reading level) show that the authors are clearly pandering to right-wing talking points. From articles spreading disinformation about election fraud to articles cozying up to the QAnon conspiracy theory, Evie Magazine intentionally spreads disinformation to its young, easily impressionable audience. The “health” section has several articles casting doubt on birth control, COVID lockdowns, and mask wearing. Despite their claims of being “fair and balanced,” the authors unashamedly hate on feminism by creating straw-man arguments that paint all feminists as extreme and radical. The authors use internalized misogyny as a weapon to exalt themselves to moral greatness by casting harsh judgment towards other women who may think or act differently than they do (Author’s Note: This will be more thoroughly explained in a later article for brevity.).
Even the fashion section wasn’t completely free from bias, as there were articles that praised Melania Trump’s fashion and promoted body shaming.
Below, I have compiled a list of claims the magazine has made, followed by a deep-dive analysis as to why they are not factually accurate. Throughout the process, I learned the importance of fact-checking online media, and I summarize my tips for fact-checking below so all of you can be more well-informed!
Claim: QAnon is an innocent movement to “save the children!”
Fact Check: False
Through my investigation of Evie, one article stood out to me: an article that sympathized with QAnon. The author of the article claims that QAnon, a conspiracy theory that claims Democratic politicians and Hollywood stars are running an undercover sex-trafficking ring and that President Trump will save us all from them, has basis in reality. To her, QAnon is factually accurate because she believes that its sole purpose is to raise awareness for sex-trafficking. She then proceeds to argue that social media bans of pro-QAnon content are unfair since it goes against the doctrine of free speech.
Though the author may describe QAnon as a harmless movement to save children from sex-traffickers and pedophiles, the movement has not only failed to take concrete action to fight sex trafficking but also incited violence among its supporters. The QAnon movement claims that members of America’s elite are sex-trafficking children, when in reality, most sex-traffickers are fake massage parlor owners, members of criminal networks, and employers of domestic servants. Despite their outrage at child sexual abuse, in a brutal twist of irony, QAnon supporters have spread child pornography throughout the Internet, as one of the QAnon founders hosted domains connected to child pornography.
Unlike typical conspiracy theories, such as the flat earth theory, QAnon wreaks havoc upon society by rousing its supporters to commit violence. A North Carolina man so strongly believed that Hillary Clinton and other Democratic politicians were trafficking children at the Comet Ping Pong pizza parlor that he stormed into it with a rifle and fired several shots. In 2018, a man was arrested for blocking a Hoover Dam bridge with an armored vehicle and military weapons because he was angry that President Trump did not arrest people that QAnon said would be arrested. QAnon manipulates its followers into joining under the guise of “saving the children,” when in reality, it uses that cause to further its own agenda of sowing distrust in science, government, and reality.
Claim: Pandemic lockdowns are unnecessary. In fact, they do more harm than good.
Fact Check: False
Evie Magazine features a disturbing amount of articles that question the efficacy of pandemic lockdowns and mask-wearing. The authors take a very selfish approach to the pandemic, prioritizing themselves over protecting the health of the community. One article, in particular, states it plainly: the government is lying to us about COVID-19 deaths to keep the lockdowns going. Another article argues that lockdowns do more harm than good by ruining the economy and increasing the amount of overdose and suicide deaths.
The magazine seems to take a negative slant on mask wearing, as the author of one article makes the bizarre claim that wearing masks makes people act meaner. All of these articles seem to deny that America is currently in the worst phase of the pandemic, as cases are steadily rising each day. The lockdown deniers ignore the fact that there are populations that are extremely vulnerable to the virus, such as people with pre-existing health conditions; having no lockdowns would cause great harm to these individuals. Since COVID-19 is spread through human contact, letting go of lockdowns early without a vaccine would lead to a rise in cases. A rise in cases would drastically overwhelm our healthcare system, as seen in the spring when many hospitals ran out of beds. A drastic increase in cases and deaths would mean that the country would need to go back to lockdown again.
Though the lockdown has certainly had a negative impact on the economy and mental health, we must understand that lockdowns are done to benefit the community by keeping everyone healthy. The science behind mask wearing is simple: COVID-19 is spread through saliva, which can be emitted when a person is talking, coughing, or sneezing. Many individuals with the virus are asymptomatic, which means that it is hard to tell if they have symptoms. By wearing a mask, you protect the community by preventing other people from getting the virus. It does not get any more simpler than that.
Claim: The election results are highly disputed due to concerns of mail-in voter fraud.
Fact Check: False
Even though the Associated Press has already called the presidential election for Joe Biden, Evie Magazine denies this fact, citing widespread instances of mail-in voter fraud. There is not one, but multiple articles that spread this conspiracy. The facts show that mail in voting is highly safe and secure, with several protections in place.
For instance, in Washington, each person who registers to vote is double-checked to ensure that he or she can legally vote and has never been registered before. Each ballot has a bar code so voters can track their ballots and ask for a new ballot if it has been stolen or misplaced. The ballot envelope has a signature section so poll workers can verify that the person who submitted the ballot is the same person that is registered to vote. Ballot counters are always under close scrutiny of a camera to ensure that they are not tampering with ballots. A study conducted by the Washington Post suggests that there is only a 0.0025 percent chance of mail-in voter fraud, a percentage too small to make a difference in the election. Evie Magazine turns a blind eye to these facts that debunk their conspiracy theories.
Takeaway: 5 steps to verify the accuracy of information
1. Understand the author’s purpose and background.
Who is the author? Is the author a professional journalist, or a layperson? What organization does the author work for? Does the author have any expertise in the material that is discussed? What is the intention of the article? Is it to report news or to give an opinion?
2. Understand the website’s bias. If looking for news, seek news sites that report the facts with minimal bias.
The Associated Press is cited as one of the most neutral news sources. Below is a chart that shows the bias of popular news sites, along with their reliability. Try to stay within the green square as much as possible if you are looking for factual news.
3. Read with skepticism. Cross-reference between multiple reputable sources.
No news source, not even the most neutral sources, is perfect. Don’t take claims from anything that you read or see at face value. Ask yourself, “Is there evidence to support this claim? Is the evidence scientific?” Cross-reference between multiple reliable sources to ensure that you’re getting the whole story.
4. Be wary of excessive emotional appeals.
Hyper-partisan sites tend to use loaded language to demonize the other side. For instance, Evie Magazine commonly uses phrases such as “toxic,” “radical,” and “lying” to instill feelings of disgust towards certain positions. Don’t let the loaded language swindle you: stick to the facts.
5. Be wary of common logical fallacies.
This resource from the University of Iowa summarizes common logical fallacies found in media well.
Here are a few of the most common fallacies with examples:
False Dichotomy: The idea that there are only two choices possible in an argument, leaving no room for nuance.
Example: Though the author offers four choices in this article, the idea behind false dichotomy is the same. The author assumes that all men are one of four things: the loser, the dude, the good man, and the hero. The reality is more complicated. People can have positive traits at certain times and exhibit negative traits during others: no one person is completely good or evil.
Straw Man: Creating a highly exaggerated, weak version of your opponent’s argument so you can easily destroy it.
Example: This article claims that all feminists are radical Communists that want to destroy families when in reality, most feminists are just concerned with equal rights.
Confusing Correlation With Causation: If B occurred after A, then A must have caused B. Doesn’t account for other factors that could have caused B.
Example: This article asserts that the reason behind San Francisco’s high crime rates is a lack of patriarchy. The author neglects to consider other explanations, such as high poverty levels or lack of affordable housing.
Extremely biased sites, such as Evie Magazine, tend to advertise themselves as “fair and balanced” or “completely truthful” to lure in unsuspecting viewers. They gaslight their viewers into distrusting reality by positioning themselves as the arbiters of truth and labelling reputable sources as “fake news.” The internet has worsened the disinformation problem: it has amplified conspiracy theorists and distributors of disinformation with a global audience. With disinformation on the rise, it is important that every individual is armed to combat it with critical thinking and reading skills.
