New York Post90%
Nolan Wells' friends heard calling for help with boat in newly released audio from day teen vanished: report 30%
By Chris Bradford78%
7/16/2026, 12:59:36 PM
Keywords: Drownings, Nolan Wells
BS Summary: This article contains 9 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Appeal to Authority, and Biased Writer Voice, with Unattributed Quote as the most egregious example at 26.8% saturation with 56 hits. Analysis detected 253 faulty-reasoning hits from 209 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 39.6% and a BS Rank of 30% (11,808 of 16,727 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 70.60% of the article peer group.
Pals of the tragic teen Nolan Wells called for help when their boat suddenly malfunctioned and started taking on water, according to newly released audio from the day of his disappearance.
Wells, 18, traveled with his friends to Horn Island from the Mississippi mainland for the Fourth of July holiday — but he wasn’t with the group for the return journey.
Their boat — which had “like seven” people on board — experienced difficulty at around 4 p.m.
“Hey, we’re at the west tip of Horn, and our bilge pump stopped working.
We’re going.
We’re sinking.
Can you all please come?”
the vessel’s operator said in audio obtained by NBC News.
“I want to get this boat unsank and towed back.”
The boat was then towed for around three miles before picking up normal speed less than an hour later, according to GPS data obtained by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and shared with NBC News.
It returned to the location it originally departed at 5:44 p.m.
Wells’ body was found two days later in the water, just off shore on the northwest end of the island, according to officials.
Confirmation Bias
0%Confirmation Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorChris Bradford
4%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Anchoring Bias
8.1%Anchoring Bias
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8.1%AuthorChris Bradford
2.1%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Availability Heuristic
1%Availability Heuristic
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1%AuthorChris Bradford
3.6%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Representativeness Heuristic
0%Representativeness Heuristic
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
1.1%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Hindsight Bias
5.3%Hindsight Bias
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5.3%AuthorChris Bradford
1.6%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Overconfidence Bias
0%Overconfidence Bias
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
3.6%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Framing Effect
0%Framing Effect
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
10.3%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Loss Aversion
0%Loss Aversion
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0.4%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Status Quo Bias
0%Status Quo Bias
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0.4%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Sunk Cost Effect
0%Sunk Cost Effect
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Optimism Bias
0%Optimism Bias
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
1.6%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Pessimism Bias
0%Pessimism Bias
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
1.7%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Negativity Bias
25.8%Negativity Bias
OverallThis article
25.8%AuthorChris Bradford
15.9%PublicationCalifornia Post
16.3%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Self-Serving Bias
0%Self-Serving Bias
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
2.2%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Fundamental Attribution Error
0%Fundamental Attribution Error
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0.9%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Actor-Observer Bias
0%Actor-Observer Bias
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0.5%PublicationCalifornia Post
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In-Group Bias
0%In-Group Bias
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
1.4%PublicationCalifornia Post
1.6%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Out-Group Homogeneity Bias
0%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorChris Bradford
1.8%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Halo Effect
0%Halo Effect
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
1.3%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Horn Effect
0%Horn Effect
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0.3%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Dunning-Kruger Effect
0%Dunning-Kruger Effect
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Recency Bias
0%Recency Bias
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
1%PublicationCalifornia Post
1.5%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Primacy Effect
0%Primacy Effect
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0.8%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Blind-Spot Bias
0%Blind-Spot Bias
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Ad Hominem
0%Ad Hominem
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
3.4%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Straw Man
0%Straw Man
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Appeal to Authority
22%Appeal to Authority
OverallThis article
22%AuthorChris Bradford
4.5%PublicationCalifornia Post
4.1%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
False Dilemma
0%False Dilemma
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0.6%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Slippery Slope
0%Slippery Slope
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0.4%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Circular Reasoning
0%Circular Reasoning
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0.1%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Hasty Generalization
0%Hasty Generalization
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
5.1%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Red Herring
0%Red Herring
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0.1%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Bandwagon
0%Bandwagon
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0.4%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Appeal to Emotion
0%Appeal to Emotion
OverallThis article
0%AuthorChris Bradford
11.4%PublicationCalifornia Post
9.1%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Begging the Question
0%Begging the Question
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0.8%PublicationCalifornia Post
1.1%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Post Hoc (False Cause)
0%Post Hoc (False Cause)
OverallThis article
0%AuthorChris Bradford
3.2%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Tu Quoque
0%Tu Quoque
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Burden of Proof
0%Burden of Proof
OverallThis article
0%AuthorChris Bradford
0.9%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Appeal to Nature
0%Appeal to Nature
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Composition/Division
0%Composition/Division
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0.3%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Anecdotal
0%Anecdotal
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
3.8%PublicationCalifornia Post
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No True Scotsman
0%No True Scotsman
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Ambiguity (Equivocation)
4.8%Ambiguity (Equivocation)
OverallThis article
4.8%AuthorChris Bradford
1.6%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Gambler’s Fallacy
0%Gambler’s Fallacy
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Middle Ground
0%Middle Ground
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0.1%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Personal Incredulity
0%Personal Incredulity
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0.2%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Special Pleading
0%Special Pleading
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Genetic Fallacy
0%Genetic Fallacy
OverallThis article
0%AuthorChris Bradford
0.1%PublicationCalifornia Post
0.4%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Unattributed Quote
26.8%Unattributed Quote
OverallThis article
26.8%AuthorChris Bradford
4.8%PublicationCalifornia Post
3.2%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Quote-first Misdirection
12.4%Quote-first Misdirection
OverallThis article
12.4%AuthorChris Bradford
3.3%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Biased Writer Voice
14.8%Biased Writer Voice
OverallThis article
14.8%AuthorChris Bradford
11.1%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Indoctrination
0%Indoctrination
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
1.3%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Politically Left Leaning Bias
0%Politically Left Leaning Bias
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0%AuthorChris Bradford
0.6%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Politically Right Leaning Bias
0%Politically Right Leaning Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorChris Bradford
3.6%PublicationCalifornia Post
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Attempt to Sell a Product or Service
0%Attempt to Sell a Product or Service
OverallThis article
0%AuthorChris Bradford
0.8%PublicationCalifornia Post
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209 words analyzed.
Analysis
Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.