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I sometimes have the feeling that I have lived through all this before and, in a sense, I have. I was sixteen years old when the first World War broke out, and I lived at that time in Hungary. From reading the newspapers in Hungary, it would have appeared that, whatever Austria and Germany did was right and whatever England, France, Russia, or America did was wrong. A good case could be made out for this general thesis, in almost every single instance. It would have been difficult for me to prove, in any single instance, that the newspapers were wrong, but somehow, it seemed to me unlikely that the two nations located in the center of Europe should be invariably right, and that all the other nations should be invariably wrong. History, I reasoned, would hardly operate in such a peculiar fashion, and it didn't take long until I began to hold views which were diametrically opposed to those held by the majority of my schoolmates.

Leo Szilard#5

BiasHistoryMedia

About this quote

What does it mean?
The author reflects on early experiences questioning biased national narratives during wartime.
In plain terms
Even as a teen, I noticed newspapers lied about nations being always right or wrong.
What can you take from it?
Question official narratives even when they seem convincing.

Where it applies

  • wartime reporting
  • news consumption
  • political education

Putting it to work

  • reading multiple sources
  • questioning propaganda

Questions to consider

  • How do you spot bias in your news sources?
  • Can you trust any single source completely?

Another view

Individual skepticism is difficult against overwhelming state narratives.

More from Leo Szilard

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  3. Even if we accept, as the basic tenet of true democracy, that one moron is equal to one genius, is it necessary to go a further step and hold that two morons a…

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