WAMU26%

Why are investigators struggling to find the source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak? 50%

7/21/2026, 12:05:49 PM

BS Summary: This article contains 18 faulty reasoning types, including Confirmation Bias, Appeal to Authority, and Status Quo Bias, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 30.6% saturation with 57 hits. Analysis detected 573 faulty-reasoning hits from 186 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 50.5% and a BS Rank of 50% (9,947 of 19,672 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 50.60% of the article peer group.

You may have heard of a parasite that’s causing some gastrointestinal distress. 
Cyclospora has sickened thousands of people across 34 states this summer  more than six times the number reported at this point last year. 
The CDC has linked a major cluster to shredded iceberg lettuce at Taco Bell in some states. 
And Taylor Farms de Mexico has now pulled all of its iceberg lettuce from the U.S. market despite an FDA finding that reports that its product contained the parasite were a false positive. 
We answer your questions about what cyclosporiasis is, how you get it, and why investigators have had such a hard time finding the source. 
<em><strong>We got a statement from the White House:</strong></em> 
<blockquote> 
<p><br aria-hidden="true" />The Trump administration’s top concern is the health and safety of the American people. 
The White House has been closely monitoring the CDC and FDA’s efforts to contain and trace this Cyclospora outbreak, and stands by to provide any assistance either agency needs to leave no stone unturned in this effort. 
</p> 
</blockquote> 
Confirmation Bias
29%
Anchoring Bias
0%
Availability Heuristic
19.4%
Representativeness Heuristic
0%
Hindsight Bias
0%
Overconfidence Bias
0%
Framing Effect
12.9%
Loss Aversion
17.7%
Status Quo Bias
19.9%
Sunk Cost Effect
0%
Optimism Bias
19.9%
Pessimism Bias
0%
Negativity Bias
30.6%
Self-Serving Bias
0%
Fundamental Attribution Error
0%
Actor-Observer Bias
0%
In-Group Bias
0%
Out-Group Homogeneity Bias
0%
Halo Effect
8.6%
Horn Effect
0%
Dunning-Kruger Effect
0%
Recency Bias
0%
Primacy Effect
0%
Blind-Spot Bias
0%
Ad Hominem
0%
Straw Man
0%
Appeal to Authority
29%
False Dilemma
0%
Slippery Slope
0%
Circular Reasoning
0%
Hasty Generalization
12.9%
Red Herring
0%
Bandwagon
0%
Appeal to Emotion
8.6%
Begging the Question
19.9%
Post Hoc (False Cause)
9.1%
Tu Quoque
0%
Burden of Proof
0%
Appeal to Nature
0%
Composition/Division
0%
Anecdotal
0%
No True Scotsman
0%
Ambiguity (Equivocation)
0%
Gambler’s Fallacy
0%
Middle Ground
0%
Personal Incredulity
0%
Special Pleading
17.7%
Genetic Fallacy
0%
Unattributed Quote
19.9%
Quote-first Misdirection
4.8%
Biased Writer Voice
15.1%
Indoctrination
12.9%
Politically Left Leaning Bias
0%
Politically Right Leaning Bias
0%
Attempt to Sell a Product or Service
0%

186 words analyzed.

Analysis

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