Testing the claim that The Nation is biased

HHB’s claim that The Nation is biased against Prayut, Trump and Putin deserves a scathing response. Firstly, the accusation of biased reporting on our esteemed prime minister ignores the fact that The Nation has not been called to account for this coverage, which has in fact steered admirably clear of provocation and controversy in favour of veracity and facts. No example of the supposed bias was given by HHB. 

Secondly, on Donald Trump, The Nation’s reporting is in line with 90 per cent of the world media’s coverage. As a Nation reader for the past 35 years, I would not hesitate to accuse its writers and editors of bias if the claim were warranted. But the lunacy of Trump’s policies has been well documented elsewhere (for one, his proposed import duties would decrease the purchasing power of poor Americans by 60 per cent). 

Reporting the facts, even in the face of cognitive dissonance, is not biased but a core duty of the press. Again, no example of bias was given by HHB.

Lastly, on Putin, HHB argues that, since the US has hundreds of military bases around the world while Russia only has two, America should be deemed the warmonger and Russia the peaceful nation.

HHB seems to forget that the American bases were established at the request of the countries concerned, to defend their sovereignty against foreign aggression. Wasn’t it Russia that stole Crimea from a sovereign nation and now threatens the neighbouring Baltic states? Who is the warmonger here? HHB seems to confuse the reporting of facts with bias when the reports don’t conform to his opinions.

Egon