The Columbian95%
Viral California teen lifeguard rescue captures nation’s awe. ‘Perfect person you’d want out there’ 98%
By Grace Toohey43% Los Angeles Times0%
7/30/2026, 4:21:45 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 7 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Emotion, Biased Writer Voice, and Halo Effect, with Availability Heuristic as the most egregious example at 58% saturation with 47 hits. Analysis detected 220 faulty-reasoning hits from 81 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 96.3% and a BS Rank of 98% (595 of 22,405 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 97.30% of the article peer group.
The dramatic footage of a teenage lifeguard saving a child from punishing waves along the California coast has captured the attention of the nation, drawing praise from the shores of Santa Cruz all the way to the White House.
Video of the rescue at Seabright State Beach on Saturday, captured and shared by local photographer Scott Vander Dussen, has gone viral on virtually every social media platform.
Confirmation Bias
0%Confirmation Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
1.2%PublicationThe Columbian
1.4%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Anchoring Bias
0%Anchoring Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
1.2%PublicationThe Columbian
5.7%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Availability Heuristic
58%Availability Heuristic
OverallThis article
58%AuthorGrace Toohey
4.8%PublicationThe Columbian
9.3%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Representativeness Heuristic
0%Representativeness Heuristic
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
1.8%PublicationThe Columbian
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Hindsight Bias
0%Hindsight Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.2%PublicationThe Columbian
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Overconfidence Bias
0%Overconfidence Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
1%PublicationThe Columbian
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Framing Effect
0%Framing Effect
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
5%PublicationThe Columbian
33.1%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Loss Aversion
0%Loss Aversion
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
2.6%PublicationThe Columbian
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Status Quo Bias
0%Status Quo Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
1.4%PublicationThe Columbian
3.9%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Sunk Cost Effect
0%Sunk Cost Effect
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.8%PublicationThe Columbian
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Optimism Bias
0%Optimism Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
4.8%PublicationThe Columbian
3.4%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Pessimism Bias
0%Pessimism Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
2%PublicationThe Columbian
0.8%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Negativity Bias
0%Negativity Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
10.3%PublicationThe Columbian
18.9%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Self-Serving Bias
0%Self-Serving Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.4%PublicationThe Columbian
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Fundamental Attribution Error
0%Fundamental Attribution Error
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.2%PublicationThe Columbian
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Actor-Observer Bias
0%Actor-Observer Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0%PublicationThe Columbian
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
In-Group Bias
0%In-Group Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
2%PublicationThe Columbian
0%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%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.3%PublicationThe Columbian
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Halo Effect
48.1%Halo Effect
OverallThis article
48.1%AuthorGrace Toohey
3%PublicationThe Columbian
3.4%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Horn Effect
0%Horn Effect
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0%PublicationThe Columbian
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Dunning-Kruger Effect
0%Dunning-Kruger Effect
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0%PublicationThe Columbian
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Recency Bias
0%Recency Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
1.9%PublicationThe Columbian
2.9%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Primacy Effect
0%Primacy Effect
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.2%PublicationThe Columbian
3.9%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Blind-Spot Bias
0%Blind-Spot Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0%PublicationThe Columbian
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Ad Hominem
0%Ad Hominem
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.2%PublicationThe Columbian
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Straw Man
0%Straw Man
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.3%PublicationThe Columbian
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Appeal to Authority
0%Appeal to Authority
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
4.7%PublicationThe Columbian
2.8%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
False Dilemma
0%False Dilemma
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.8%PublicationThe Columbian
2.8%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Slippery Slope
0%Slippery Slope
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.1%PublicationThe Columbian
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Circular Reasoning
0%Circular Reasoning
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.1%PublicationThe Columbian
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Hasty Generalization
0%Hasty Generalization
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
2%PublicationThe Columbian
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Red Herring
0%Red Herring
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0%PublicationThe Columbian
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Bandwagon
34.6%Bandwagon
OverallThis article
34.6%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.2%PublicationThe Columbian
2.4%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Appeal to Emotion
58%Appeal to Emotion
OverallThis article
58%AuthorGrace Toohey
6.3%PublicationThe Columbian
4.8%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Begging the Question
0%Begging the Question
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0%PublicationThe Columbian
0%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%AuthorGrace Toohey
2.5%PublicationThe Columbian
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Tu Quoque
0%Tu Quoque
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.1%PublicationThe Columbian
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Burden of Proof
0%Burden of Proof
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.1%PublicationThe Columbian
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Appeal to Nature
0%Appeal to Nature
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.4%PublicationThe Columbian
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Composition/Division
0%Composition/Division
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.2%PublicationThe Columbian
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Anecdotal
0%Anecdotal
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
2%PublicationThe Columbian
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No True Scotsman
0%No True Scotsman
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0%PublicationThe Columbian
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Ambiguity (Equivocation)
0%Ambiguity (Equivocation)
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
2.4%PublicationThe Columbian
3.9%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Gambler’s Fallacy
0%Gambler’s Fallacy
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0%PublicationThe Columbian
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Middle Ground
0%Middle Ground
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.4%PublicationThe Columbian
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Personal Incredulity
0%Personal Incredulity
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.3%PublicationThe Columbian
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Special Pleading
0%Special Pleading
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0%PublicationThe Columbian
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Genetic Fallacy
0%Genetic Fallacy
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.2%PublicationThe Columbian
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Unattributed Quote
7.4%Unattributed Quote
OverallThis article
7.4%AuthorGrace Toohey
1.8%PublicationThe Columbian
10.1%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Quote-first Misdirection
7.4%Quote-first Misdirection
OverallThis article
7.4%AuthorGrace Toohey
1.2%PublicationThe Columbian
0.5%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Biased Writer Voice
58%Biased Writer Voice
OverallThis article
58%AuthorGrace Toohey
2.1%PublicationThe Columbian
21.7%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Indoctrination
0%Indoctrination
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.5%PublicationThe Columbian
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Politically Left Leaning Bias
0%Politically Left Leaning Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
1.6%PublicationThe Columbian
2.8%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Politically Right Leaning Bias
0%Politically Right Leaning Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0.1%PublicationThe Columbian
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Attempt to Sell a Product or Service
0%Attempt to Sell a Product or Service
OverallThis article
0%AuthorGrace Toohey
0%PublicationThe Columbian
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81 words analyzed.
Analysis
Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.