What is ‘Cherry Picking’, the Manipulation Method of Politicians?

Polar issues discussed in the news, social media and different media based on scientific articles You’ve seen that there are arguments. For example, ‘Internet’ has not fallen from the agenda for years.coffee Is it harmful?We can show the subject.

When you go to some people about this subject, you can say that coffee is useful and you can read scientific articles. after browsing They say they’ve decided that. On the other hand, some people show the scientific articles and make coffee damaging argues that. So how can we evaluate these two arguments based on science?

This is exactly the cherry picking fallacy:

Let’s continue with our example again. People who love coffee can refer to the parts of coffee that are beneficial in scientific articles, or just look for studies that say it is beneficial. In this context, information that says otherwise but is equally reliable they ignorewell cherry picking they are mistaken.

Likewise, those who want to argue that coffee is harmful ‘Harms of coffee‘ and present the findings as a source. This would be cherry picking at the same rate. Which of these you believe or not depends on the platform or the person presenting the findings. to your trustwhat you are inclined to believe, and most importantly to your objectivity varies according to

Coffee is a very simple example, we can see it in politics, in the advertising industry, and even in the healthcare industry:

9 out of 10 dentists recommends our toothpaste You remember ads like In these advertisements, we do not usually see why dentists approve of this paste or why that 1 person does not approve. It is stated that it is only approved by dentists, which is sufficient for the buyer who is not very conscious and needs toothpaste to choose that product.

How many dentists have tested that paste and how you tested we don’t know. Is it delivered to them with a special part prepared during the production phase or is it given to them as we buy from the market? we don’t know.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t trust them. Dentists are of course more capable of testing the functionality of toothpastes than other groups. Here, the main point that causes cherry picking is the opinion of 9 dentists versus the opinion of 1 doctor. disregard for opinioni.e. biased treatment. Of course, it should not be surprising that there is no idea in the advertising industry that will bring the product down.

We see this in politics as well. Especially when new decisions will be taken that will affect the whole country:

At this point, politicians, while expressing their ideas, show other countries as an example and support their own ideas through them. Of course, we will not go into politics here, but all around the world Let me point out that this is the case. In countries that have had a downward trend in education, economy, and other areas for years, everything is perfect when the slightest improvement occurs. 3% growth in sector X! shared with such expressions.

But over the years huge setback is left in the background. This is also a solid example for cherry picking. That is, cherry picking is defined as “when evaluating the evidence supporting one’s argument or the situation one wants to believe, counter-arguments against them. connivanceWe can define it as ”.

There are two types of Cherry Picking, direct and indirect:

The part we talked about so far direct it was. If the indirect human nature Activated. We want to believe that our thoughts are correct, so we inevitably tend to be biased. For this reason, the new information we will without noticing We can be selective, and we can be involved in cherry picking by sharing this information we have chosen with others.

As another reason to be indirectly involved in this situation, indolence We can show you. For example, you know that everyone saw the 3 percent growth in the political example we just gave. But how many see the setback behind the scenes and share it with others? There is indolence here and instead of diving into the stack of information, what is presented to us with a scrap of information we are enough.

It is not difficult to predict what will happen when everyone does this. Decline grows larger and people do this after a while to receive normal starts. This, in addition to politics, gives a great power that can be used for the sake of advertising, fashion, health or whatever field it is applied by.

So what can we do against cherry picking?

First of all, you need to be objective both to yourself and to the other party. In order for the other party to be objective with you,i am right‘, you need to leave the perception behind and present concrete evidence. It’s true when both sides are objective self will reveal.

But when there is no one in front of you, a the organization or if you’re faced with the unsound or questionable ideas of a group, counter-arguments are not uncommon for you to present alone. may not respond. In such cases, you can share your evidence through mass media, especially social media, and enable other people to see this situation and reach an objective answer.

Finally, we have a content where we explain in detail what you can do against misleading news content. By taking a glance at our content, You can ensure your objectivity.

Finally: don’t confuse objectivity in cherry picking with pessimism.

If few buildings survived in a city caught off guard by an earthquake Our method X kept them afloat explanations such as At this point, it is important to see the destroyed buildings. it is normal. For this reason, when evaluating situations or explanations, we should avoid being overly optimistic or overly pessimistic. to avoid We recommend.

You can share your thoughts about cherry picking in the comments section.

resources: 1, 2, 3