danielmiessler/lifeos/biascheck

BiasCheck

Runs a three-layer bias audit on any source: a URL, a file path, or raw text. It reads the content plus any study it cites, then checks (1) biases inside the data, (2) conflicts of interest in the source organization, and (3) distortions the journalism added on top. The output separates what the data actually supports from what got editorialized.

Ideal State

• Every audit reaches the primary source behind the input, or records that it could not as a finding.
• The three layers (data, source organization, journalism) stay separate, and every bias claim names a concrete tell from the artifact.
• The reader leaves with what the data actually supports, split from what was editorialized on top, so the original claim can be rewritten honestly.
• Findings are specific to this artifact. A funder's stake is a multiplier on the analysis, never an automatic disqualifier, and a category with no tell in the source is left out rather than forced.

Intent Routing

Data & Config

User customizations live at <configRoot>/LIFEOS/USER/CUSTOMIZATIONS/SKILLS/BiasCheck/ (configRoot is $CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR when set, else ~/.claude). When that directory exists, its PREFERENCES.md and reference files override the defaults here; when it is absent, the defaults stand.

Gotchas

• The biggest failure is never reaching the study. Critiquing the headline without the underlying data misses whether the data was fine or junk; the Check intent's fetch order exists for this.

Examples

Example 1: Article citing a vendor study

User: "bias check https://news.example.com/some-article-citing-a-vendor-survey"
→ Check intent
→ The cited vendor study is located and read alongside the article
→ Report covers the vendor conflict of interest, sample and question-design biases, and the headline-vs-source swap, then the supported-vs-editorialized split

Example 2: Raw paste of a study abstract

User: "bias check this abstract: [pastes 4 paragraphs from a paper]"
→ Check intent
→ Layers 1 and 2 only (funding disclosure, sample, methodology, conflict of interest); Layer 3 is skipped with a note because the input IS the primary source
→ The report says when the abstract is too thin to assess methodology (publication availability bias)

Example 3: File path

User: "bias check ~/Downloads/some-report.pdf"
→ Check intent
→ Upstream sources the report cites are fetched where possible
→ Three-layer report with specifics