Photos: Wildfire haze cloaks Boston 46%

By WBUR Newsroom0%

7/15/2026, 3:55:33 PM

BS Summary: This article contains 20 faulty reasoning types, including Framing Effect, Optimism Bias, and Appeal to Emotion, with Biased Writer Voice as the most egregious example at 26.9% saturation with 80 hits. Analysis detected 647 faulty-reasoning hits from 297 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 47.9% and a BS Rank of 46% (9,017 of 16,550 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 54.50% of the article peer group.

Boston's skyline was shrouded in an ominous yellow glow Wednesday. 
A thick plume of smoke from wildfires burning in Canada and northern Minnesota coated the New England region, causing poor air quality and dramatic sepia lighting. 
Since the smoke moved in Tuesday, residents across the state and elsewhere have craned their necks to look up, stare at the sun and take photographs of it. 
In some places, the sun was barely visible behind the smokescreen. 
At other times, it appeared like a neon red fireball. 
Air quality alerts were issued for most of the Northeast. 
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection said the skies contain a moderately unhealthy amount of particulate pollution, which will be troubling for sensitive groups, including those with asthma, COPD and other respiratory issues. 
Meteorologist Danielle Noyes said New Englanders should brace themselves for another heavy wave of smoke Thursday afternoon. 
Unlike Tuesday, more of this thick smoke will blanket the area at the ground-level, meaning anyone who heads outside will likely smell it permeate the air. 
On the bright side, National Weather Service meteorologist Caitlyn Mensch said the smoke held off an expected stretch of high heat. 
"Temperatures are definitely rising at a slower rate than was originally forecast, and because of that, we have, in some areas, taken down the heat advisory just because that smoke has limited how quickly the temperatures rose." 
And, as Noyes previously reported, smoke particles scatter blue light, which means people can bank on being dazzled by stunner sunrises and sunsets. 
Here's what it looks like in Boston and across the region on Wednesday: 
Got any foreboding or spectacular photographs to share of the smoke-filled air? 
Share them with us at acreamer@bu.edu, and we may publish them in another photos post. 
Confirmation Bias
0%
Anchoring Bias
0%
Availability Heuristic
8.8%
Representativeness Heuristic
9.4%
Hindsight Bias
9.4%
Overconfidence Bias
0%
Framing Effect
23.9%
Loss Aversion
0%
Status Quo Bias
0%
Sunk Cost Effect
0%
Optimism Bias
14.8%
Pessimism Bias
5.7%
Negativity Bias
12.5%
Self-Serving Bias
0%
Fundamental Attribution Error
0%
Actor-Observer Bias
0%
In-Group Bias
0%
Out-Group Homogeneity Bias
0%
Halo Effect
7.7%
Horn Effect
0%
Dunning-Kruger Effect
0%
Recency Bias
8.8%
Primacy Effect
0%
Blind-Spot Bias
0%
Ad Hominem
0%
Straw Man
0%
Appeal to Authority
11.1%
False Dilemma
8.8%
Slippery Slope
0%
Circular Reasoning
12.5%
Hasty Generalization
9.4%
Red Herring
0%
Bandwagon
4%
Appeal to Emotion
13.5%
Begging the Question
0%
Post Hoc (False Cause)
9.4%
Tu Quoque
0%
Burden of Proof
0%
Appeal to Nature
0%
Composition/Division
0%
Anecdotal
0%
No True Scotsman
0%
Ambiguity (Equivocation)
3.7%
Gambler’s Fallacy
0%
Middle Ground
0%
Personal Incredulity
0%
Special Pleading
0%
Genetic Fallacy
0%
Unattributed Quote
12.5%
Quote-first Misdirection
0%
Biased Writer Voice
26.9%
Indoctrination
0%
Politically Left Leaning Bias
0%
Politically Right Leaning Bias
0%
Attempt to Sell a Product or Service
5.1%

297 words analyzed.

Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.