Factual reporting, interpretation and distortion Essay Example for Free

Factual reporting, interpretation and distortion Essay How are distinctions made between factual reporting, interpretation and distortion? This essay is going to tell the differences between factual reporting, interpretation and distortion. Factual reporting means that an answer or a statement is based on facts that are true and proven. Interpretation is an individuals opinion and appreciation about a subject. It is not based on facts but just on opinions and theories. Distortion is a way of delivering wrong information, twisted and wrongly explained information. It is based on facts but kind of turns them around. Factual reporting is the way of delivering an opinion/theory based on true facts. An example of this is an article I read in Metro today, which was about conspiracies. The one that caught my eye was one that stated that an airplane never crashed into the Pentagon. This theory was based on facts, which I never had heard of. For example, the surveillance camera of the Pentagon didnt show an airplane but only a white line in the sky. Another thing was that the hole in the Pentagon was way too small to have been creased by an airplane. The write stated that the US Air force shot down flight 77, and to cover this up they blew up a part of the building without the workers knowing anything about it. Also no big wreck parts from the plane were found. This is a factual reporting as its based on true facts and it not created by opinions or own thoughts as in an interpretation. Also the moon landing is believed to be a fake. There are many facts that point against it. In a video from the moon the flag that Neil Armstrong put up was waving in the wind. And theres not supposed to be any wind on the moon. Also the shadows go in different directions and the shadow of the space shuttle should fall on Armstrong, a good example of factual reporting. A theory based on facts. Interpretation is a theory based an individuals own opinion. A great example of this is racists. The Nazis believe that black or people with darker skin than westerners are worth less. This is a great example as this theory of theirs is based on their own opinions and have no actual facts to base it on. There is no proof that colored people are worth less than white people. This is why its an interpretation. No facts or proof are involved in the theory. Another example of interpretation is Bin Ladin. The US government doesnt know that hes alive. The videos that they got from him are old now and he could be dead already. The US government think that he is alive because of the videos, but they have been bombing caves, cities and other places in hope of killing him, so he could be dead. This is interpretation as they base it on what they believe. There is no proof that hes alive. Distortion is when facts are wrong, twisted or inaccurate. Another definition is when two people disagree with one another. An example is if I say to Andreas, we have homework for tomorrow and he says we dont. This is distortion in a way. Another example is all kinds of magazines and television shows as they tent not to show all of their footage information. They cut what they dont want people to hear, which helps them things look negative and positive. This is a typical example of distortion as it twists the truth or the reality. Often when you experience something and they write about it the next day in a newspaper, its never the same. You always say to yourself, Thats not exactly what happened. Sometimes the media exaggerate to find a big audience. They do what I like to call, Stretch reality. Its a clear case of distortion because they twist the truth or give an inaccurate point of view. As a conclusion or to answer the question I would like to say that the difference or the distinctions between factual reporting, interpretation and distortion is the amount of facts they are based on. Factual reporting is based on only facts to make a clear image of a theory, event or opinion. Interpretation is based on opinions but no facts. Only the people who made the theory, its only based on things that are going on inside those peoples heads. Distortion is based on facts but mostly told the opposite way or twisted to change the way people think of it. It often tries to make the facts inaccurate.