Horn Effect
bias
Summary: Let one negative trait taint overall judgment.
A single flaw causes observers to downgrade other abilities or motives unfairly.
Pattern prevalence
- Authors: top 0.1%, bottom 0.6%, overall 0.4%
- Publications: top 0.4%, bottom 0.6%, overall 0.3%
- Articles: top 1.1%, bottom 0%, overall 0.5%
Recent example
The devil owns Amazon: big tech has infiltrated the fashion world - will we see a revolt? The press conference for the Met
Recent articles
Lefty Senate candidate Graham Platner seen in shocking topless, towel-wearing selfie from hook up app Kik 0%
New York Post - By David Spector - 5/30/2026, 9:57 PM
Negativity Bias 31.7% - Appeal to Emotion 24.5% - Biased Writer Voice 20.2%
Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner can be seen in a shocking new topless, towel-wearing selfie from his account on an app widely used for hookups – as it emerged the Nazi-tattoo-wearing Democrat sexted with numerous women outside his marriage. In the image obtained by The Post from his Kik account, the left-leaning Platner is clad... more
Team Trump’s latest no-bid contract: $5 million to coat horse statues in gold 0%
MS NOW - By Steve Benen - 5/29/2026, 1:00 PM
Biased Writer Voice 49.4% - Negativity Bias 26.8% - Confirmation Bias 20.8%
Donald Trump and his team haven’t exactly been subtle about their gold fixation. Since the president returned to power, Americans have seen an emphasis on everything from “Gold Cards” to a “Golden Dome” to a “Golden Fleet” of U.S. battleships. (And don’t get me started on the many gold trinkets Trump plastered on the walls of the Oval... more
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen celebrate 'Toy Story 5' 0%
Associated Press - 5/29/2026, 12:53 PM
Availability Heuristic 24.1% - Ambiguity (Equivocation) 22.3% - Negativity Bias 20.3%
Buzz Lightyear is insane. >> It's been too long, Woody. Came here as fast as I could after Jessie called for help. >> Oh, thank you. Thank you. >> Tom and I go to lunch a lot and if if we're ever talking in a group, people would come up What no matter what age group now cuz we started this 30 years ago. Some of them are could be our... more
Three men arrested for execution-style killing of Bronx father of four 0%
New York Daily News - By Colin Mixson - 5/29/2026, 2:36 AM
Appeal to Authority 59.5% - Ambiguity (Equivocation) 27.5% - Negativity Bias 25%
Three men were arrested Thursday for the execution-style killing of a father of four more than nine months after he was gunned down outside a Bronx smoke shop, cops said. Kadin West, 23, Milan Wright, 19, and Jahrid Dawkins, 18, were captured by a joint task force consisting of NYPD officers and federal agents with Homeland Security... more
The devil owns Amazon: big tech has infiltrated the fashion world - will we see a revolt? 24%
The Guardian - By Hannah Marriott - 5/24/2026, 12:00 PM
Negativity Bias 33% - Anecdotal 20.2% - Hasty Generalization 16.9%
The press conference for the Met Costume Institute’s spring exhibition is always a stately affair, but this year it was giving “feudal lady addresses her serfs” or perhaps “Marie Antoinette during the last days of Versailles”. Here, among the spectacular marble sculptures of the art museum’s American wing, was a beaming Lauren Sánchez... more
Hunter Biden and Candace Owens find common ground in conspiracy theories 53.2%
MS NOW - By Anthony L. Fisher - 5/23/2026, 10:00 AM
Negativity Bias 56.2% - Biased Writer Voice 50.4% - Ad Hominem 21.2%
Watching Hunter Biden’s nearly two-hour interview with the antisemitic megastar podcaster Candace Owens was, as you might expect, not an intellectually rewarding experience. But that’s not to say it didn’t have some accidentally illuminating moments. Despite Owens’ considerable talent for monetizing content that appeals to bigots and... more
JD Vance defends the Trump administration’s proposed DOJ “anti-weaponization fund” #shorts 88.2%
CBS News - 5/21/2026, 3:17 AM
Going back to the price tag for this DOJ fund, $1.8 billion. You have people that can't afford groceries, gas is high, people are making sacrifices in their personal lives to accommodate for this rise in prices. People are telling us that they feel financially worse off. They're very concerned about the uncertainty. How can you justify... more
US charges Cuba's Raúl Castro with murder for 1996 shoot down of humanitarian planes 37.8%
ABC News - 5/21/2026, 12:08 AM
We begin tonight here with the breaking news. A major escalation between the US and Cuba after the US took action in Venezuela, then Iran. Tonight, President Trump now saying, quote, "We have Cuba on our mind." Tonight, the Justice Department unsealing an indictment against former Cuban President Raul Castro, the brother of the late... more
‘I don’t get excited about The Tragically Hip’: This legendary Canadian music manager’s issues with CanCon 5.6%
CBC Arts - By Sabina Wex - 5/19/2026, 8:23 PM
Anecdotal 22.5% - Appeal to Authority 9.8% - Post Hoc (False Cause) 9.3%
Bruce Allen’s management roster reads like a history of Canadian popular music: Bryan Adams, Anne Murray, Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Michael Bublé. After more than 50 years of working in the Canadian music industry, the Departure Festival recently honoured Allen with a Lifetime Achievement Award. But the legendary Canadian manager... more
Opinion | Here's what's behind Pete Hegseth's vendetta against Mark Kelly 85.3%
MS NOW - By Lt. Col. Rachel E. VanLandingham (ret.) - 5/17/2026, 10:00 AM
Biased Writer Voice 82.3% - Negativity Bias 40.7% - Appeal to Emotion 21.2%
It is ironic as well as troubling that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently went on X to accuse Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a decorated naval aviator who flew combat missions and served as a NASA astronaut, of improperly sharing privileged military information on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. It’s ironic because Hegseth himself... more