On the other hand, the article about Saddam Hussein on Answers.com (US Military History Companion) takes on a negative approach to his description. It describes his rise to power in becoming the Vice-President of Iraq as the result of a "military coup". The article quotes, "after a decade of ruthless elimination of civilian officials and military officers, [Saddam Hussein] forced out his predecessor and benefactor, Gen. Ahmad Hasan al‐, became president in July 1979, killed most of his opponents, and established himself as dictator". The article uses such biased words as "ruthless", "forced" and "killed" to describe how Saddam Hussein established himself as a dictator. The article also describes Hussein's involvement in the Iraq-Iran War and in the Invasion of Kuwait. According to Answers.com, Hussein invaded Iran because he considered their Militant Islamic government a threat. The use of the word "Islamic" shows the authors bias by including religion. With Iraq bankrupt after the Iran-Iraq War, Saddam sought to "bully Kuwait into bailing him out". Nevertheless, they refused and so started the invasion of Kuwait. The use of the word "bully" is biased in the sense that it signifies persecution and terrorization of Saddam and the Iraqis. Answers.com also links Saddam to the September 11 Terrorist attack on the United States, however indirectly. This implies Saddam's association with terrorists from the Al-Qaeda group and hence denotes him as a terrorist.
The bias contained in each article is very clear. Wikipedia describes Saddam very positively, highlighting his role in bring about Arab unity, freedom for women, social equality and improving his nations political and economic well-being. On the contrary, Answers.com describes Saddam as a dictator and a tyrant, placing much emphasis in his involvement in wars among countries in the Middle East and his assassination of civilians as well as opponents.
Bias exists everywhere in our everyday life, especially in the media. In stories, articles, and newspapers all over the world people are trying to convince their readers to think the way they do. Such statements are usually subjective, meaning it may not be entirely true as it shaped by the opinion of the writer. Objective reports, on the other hand, are completely unbiased. Hence, it is very important that readers understand the difference between subjectivity and objectivity in order to determine the credibility of the information they are receiving from the media. The two sources chosen depict two different descriptions about the same person, Saddam Hussein. Wikipedia is shown to take a positive side to Saddam's biography; whereas Answers.com leans towards a much negative description of his character. We must keep in mind, however, that truth is subjective and may be affected by one's perception of the subject matter. What can be true to one person may be totally false to another person. Similarly, the way in which one person perceives something may be perceived differently by another person. For this reason, when articles, stories, and descriptions are published about people, places, or events, they are usually subjective to the author of the article. Such reports are not trustworthy and must be free from judgement, opinion, and biases. In order for articles to be unbiased, the author must be objective in his or her writings and must therefore discuss both sides of every issue equally.
Works Cited
"Saddam Hussein." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 19 Oct. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddam_Hussein>.
"Saddam Hussein: Biography from Answers.com." Answers.com: Wiki Q&A Combined with Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Encyclopedias. Web. 19 Oct. 2010. <http://www.answers.com/topic/saddam-hussein>.
