Researchers say an AI-powered transcription tool used in hospitals invents things no one ever said
AP's reporting on Whisper hallucinating in hospital transcripts is a sharp case of a polished output being treated as if accuracy followed from confidence and fluency. It also shows why one plausible-seeming example is not enough to certify a tool as reliable in high-stakes settings. The fallacy here is Bare assertion fallacy: a contested claim is simply asserted, often confidently, without the evidence needed to justify it. That matters here because confidence, volume, and repetition can make a bare assertion sound weighty, but they do not do the evidential work. A better analysis would remember that when the core support is missing, the proper question is still: What is the evidence?
Associated Press · 2024-10-26
Top Haitian official denounces false claim, repeated by Trump, that immigrants are eating pets
AP's September 26, 2024 report on Haiti's transitional council president condemning the Springfield pet-eating rumor shows how quickly a sensational falsehood can travel from fringe posts to a presidential debate to the United Nations. The case is vivid enough to illustrate both emotional manipulation and the costs of repeating an unverified claim because it 'sounds like what the other side would do.' The fallacy here is Bare assertion fallacy: a contested claim is simply asserted, often confidently, without the evidence needed to justify it. That matters here because confidence, volume, and repetition can make a bare assertion sound weighty, but they do not do the evidential work. A better analysis would remember that when the core support is missing, the proper question is still: What is the evidence?
Associated Press · 2024-09-26
Authorities rebut claims that Haitian immigrants are eating cats, waterfowl in Ohio town
PolitiFact's September 9, 2024 Springfield fact check is a neat example of a rumor built out of anonymous posts, recycled images, and suggestive repetition rather than verifiable support. It shows how easily a story can feel established before it has actually been checked. The fallacy here is Bare assertion fallacy: a contested claim is simply asserted, often confidently, without the evidence needed to justify it. That matters here because confidence, volume, and repetition can make a bare assertion sound weighty, but they do not do the evidential work. A better analysis would remember that when the core support is missing, the proper question is still: What is the evidence?
PolitiFact · 2024-09-09
How an unsubstantiated, anonymous affidavit about the ABC presidential debate was amplified online
PolitiFact's September 20, 2024 reconstruction of the fake ABC whistleblower affidavit is especially valuable because it shows how public figures shared the claim while conceding they did not know whether it was true. That is a live, well-documented case of conjecture and amplification outrunning authentication. The fallacy here is Bare assertion fallacy: a contested claim is simply asserted, often confidently, without the evidence needed to justify it. That matters here because confidence, volume, and repetition can make a bare assertion sound weighty, but they do not do the evidential work. A better analysis would remember that when the core support is missing, the proper question is still: What is the evidence?
PolitiFact · 2024-09-20
Biden tells Trump to 'get a life, man' and stop storm misinformation
AP's October 10, 2024 report on hurricane-response misinformation is a clean example of how disaster politics invites fear-based claims that spread faster than verification. The article is especially useful for showing how emotionally convenient numbers and slogans can be detached from what agencies actually said. The fallacy here is Bare assertion fallacy: a contested claim is simply asserted, often confidently, without the evidence needed to justify it. That matters here because confidence, volume, and repetition can make a bare assertion sound weighty, but they do not do the evidential work. A better analysis would remember that when the core support is missing, the proper question is still: What is the evidence?
Associated Press · 2024-10-10
