The Free Press80%
Local News Is Dying. This 25-Year-Old Bought His Hometown Paper Anyway. 14%
By Frannie Block64%
7/31/2026, 2:03:28 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 14 faulty reasoning types, including Unattributed Quote, Optimism Bias, and Ambiguity (Equivocation), with Biased Writer Voice as the most egregious example at 21.8% saturation with 38 hits. Analysis detected 209 faulty-reasoning hits from 174 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 25.3% and a BS Rank of 14% (22,180 of 25,564 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 86.80% of the article peer group.
Evan Newton is one of the youngest newspaper owners in the country today.
The 25-year-old took over The Monticello News, a small weekly newspaper in southern Georgia, two weeks ago.
But by the looks of his desk, you’d think he’d been running the show for years.
There are half-filled reporter notebooks, an old film canister, a walkie-talkie, and a half-burned candle used to offset the smell of the office cats—including a black tabby named Typo who got her name from sitting on people’s keyboards.
The landline rings while Newton is in the middle of editing a story about the town’s softball team.
It’s a subscriber calling: Her paper didn’t show up on the doorstep last Thursday.
Newton realizes her subscription has lapsed, and helps her renew it.
“I’ve never owned a business,” said Newton, who admitted he barely graduated from college.
Now he’s managing a three-person staff, plus a handful of freelancers and contract delivery people.
“This is all learning in real time.”
Confirmation Bias
0%Confirmation Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
1.2%PublicationThe FP
5.1%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Anchoring Bias
0%Anchoring Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0.8%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Availability Heuristic
8.6%Availability Heuristic
OverallThis article
8.6%AuthorFrannie Block
1.1%PublicationThe FP
3.8%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Representativeness Heuristic
7.5%Representativeness Heuristic
OverallThis article
7.5%AuthorFrannie Block
2.2%PublicationThe FP
1.6%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Hindsight Bias
0%Hindsight Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0.7%PublicationThe FP
1.3%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Overconfidence Bias
0%Overconfidence Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
1.5%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Framing Effect
4%Framing Effect
OverallThis article
4%AuthorFrannie Block
10.8%PublicationThe FP
8.6%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Loss Aversion
0%Loss Aversion
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0.4%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%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0.5%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%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0.1%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Optimism Bias
12.1%Optimism Bias
OverallThis article
12.1%AuthorFrannie Block
2.7%PublicationThe FP
1.3%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Pessimism Bias
6.3%Pessimism Bias
OverallThis article
6.3%AuthorFrannie Block
1.4%PublicationThe FP
1.4%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Negativity Bias
6.3%Negativity Bias
OverallThis article
6.3%AuthorFrannie Block
5.8%PublicationThe FP
9.7%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Self-Serving Bias
6.3%Self-Serving Bias
OverallThis article
6.3%AuthorFrannie Block
1.9%PublicationThe FP
1.2%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Fundamental Attribution Error
0%Fundamental Attribution Error
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
1.2%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Actor-Observer Bias
0%Actor-Observer Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0.1%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%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
1.5%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%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
1.2%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Halo Effect
9.2%Halo Effect
OverallThis article
9.2%AuthorFrannie Block
8.5%PublicationThe FP
1.7%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Horn Effect
0%Horn Effect
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0.3%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%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Recency Bias
0%Recency Bias
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
1.9%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Primacy Effect
0%Primacy Effect
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
1%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%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0.1%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Ad Hominem
0%Ad Hominem
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
2.2%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Straw Man
0%Straw Man
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
1.1%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%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
2.7%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
False Dilemma
0%False Dilemma
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
2.1%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Slippery Slope
0%Slippery Slope
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
1.1%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Circular Reasoning
0%Circular Reasoning
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0.2%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Hasty Generalization
2.3%Hasty Generalization
OverallThis article
2.3%AuthorFrannie Block
2.1%PublicationThe FP
7.9%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Red Herring
0%Red Herring
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0.3%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Bandwagon
0%Bandwagon
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
1%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Appeal to Emotion
4%Appeal to Emotion
OverallThis article
4%AuthorFrannie Block
9.1%PublicationThe FP
5.3%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%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
1.3%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%AuthorFrannie Block
0.9%PublicationThe FP
2.3%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Tu Quoque
0%Tu Quoque
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0.2%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Burden of Proof
0%Burden of Proof
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0.6%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%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0.1%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Composition/Division
0%Composition/Division
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0.4%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Anecdotal
4%Anecdotal
OverallThis article
4%AuthorFrannie Block
1.1%PublicationThe FP
3.3%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
No True Scotsman
0%No True Scotsman
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0.1%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Ambiguity (Equivocation)
11.5%Ambiguity (Equivocation)
OverallThis article
11.5%AuthorFrannie Block
1.5%PublicationThe FP
1.7%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%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Middle Ground
0%Middle Ground
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0.1%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Personal Incredulity
0%Personal Incredulity
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0.1%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Special Pleading
0%Special Pleading
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0.1%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Genetic Fallacy
0%Genetic Fallacy
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0.3%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Unattributed Quote
16.1%Unattributed Quote
OverallThis article
16.1%AuthorFrannie Block
2.1%PublicationThe FP
2.3%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Quote-first Misdirection
0%Quote-first Misdirection
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
1.2%PublicationThe FP
1.8%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Biased Writer Voice
21.8%Biased Writer Voice
OverallThis article
21.8%AuthorFrannie Block
3.2%PublicationThe FP
13.3%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Indoctrination
0%Indoctrination
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
2.6%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%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
0.6%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%AuthorFrannie Block
0%PublicationThe FP
2.8%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
Attempt to Sell a Product or Service
0%Attempt to Sell a Product or Service
OverallThis article
0%AuthorFrannie Block
7.3%PublicationThe FP
3.9%Bar shows this article. Yellow and cyan markers show the selected author and publication averages.
174 words analyzed.
Analysis
Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.