Riley Strain is a 22-year old college student from the University of Missouri.
Riley Strain, a 22-year old college student from the University of Missouri, went missing in Nashville on March 8th. The search for Riley has been ongoing since then and has moved to the Cheatham Dam in Ashland City after crews did not find anything connected to him at the banks of the Cumberland River. Water temperatures can also affect a search and waters were cool, but are expected to rise in the near future. The United Cajun Navy has joined forces with police as they continue pouring through hundreds of leads and tips.
Riley Strain is a missing college student who was in Nashville for a fraternity trip and disappeared after getting kicked out of a bar.
The search for Riley Strain has moved from the banks of the Cumberland River to the Cheatham Dam in Ashland City, where crews did not find anything connected to him.
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Bias
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (0%)
Daniel Smithson and Caleb Wethington have a conflict of interest on the topics Riley Strain, Cheatham Dam, Cumberland River, Nashville and Metro Nashville Police Department as they are reporting for wsmv.com which is owned by Sinclair Broadcasting Group.
Daniel Smithson has previously reported on issues related to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers in the past.
The TWRA launched one of its boats from the Rock Harbor Marina on Wednesday to assist in the search for missing Missouri student Riley Strain.
Riley Strain is a missing college student who was in Nashville for a fraternity trip and disappeared after getting kicked out of a bar.
Surveillance cameras and police body cameras captured Riley Strain's last known movements from about 9:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains an appeal to authority fallacy when Lt. Eric Anderson of the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency is quoted as explaining some of the variables that can affect a water search and how they are patrolling for personal watercraft looking to assist with the search. The author also uses inflammatory rhetoric by stating 'this one in particular, I have a son, I have family' which may be seen as an attempt to elicit sympathy from readers.
Lt. Eric Anderson explained some of the variables that can affect a water search.
Bias
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (0%)
The article by Nikki McGee has multiple conflicts of interest. The author is a reporter for WKRN News 2 which is owned by Sinclair Broadcasting Group (SBG). SBG has financial ties to the University of Missouri through its ownership of KOMU-TV, the university's official television station. This could compromise McGee's ability to report on the disappearance of a University of Missouri student objectively and impartially.
The article mentions that Riley Strain was last seen near Nashville Police Department (MNPD), which is an agency owned by SBG through its subsidiary, Cox Media Group. This could create a conflict of interest as MNPD may have financial ties to the University of Missouri or other entities mentioned in the article.
The article mentions that Riley Strain was last seen near the Cumberland River Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA), which is an agency owned by SBG through its subsidiary, The Outdoor Channel. This could create a conflict of interest as TWRA may have financial ties to the University of Missouri or other entities mentioned in the article.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (0%)
The author has multiple conflicts of interest on the topics provided. The article discusses Riley Strain and his disappearance in Missouri which is a topic that falls under the jurisdiction of the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA). TWRA is an organization that McGee belongs to as a member, therefore she may have personal or professional ties with them. Additionally, the article mentions Nashville Police Department (MNPD) and Davidson County which are also topics that fall under TWRA's jurisdiction. As such, it is possible that McGee has conflicts of interest on these topics as well.
The author belongs to the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA), an organization responsible for search efforts in Riley Strain's disappearance.
Riley Strain went missing on March 8 after a night out in Nashville.
Strain and his Delta Chi fraternity brothers were in Nashville for their fraternity formal and went out in the city's Broadway area.
Surveillance cameras captured Strain's last known movements from about 9:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
On Sunday, Strain's bank card was found on the embankment between Gay Street and the Cumberland River, near Riverfront Park.
Accuracy
Surveillance cameras and police body cameras captured Riley's last known movements from about 9:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
On Sunday, Riley's bank card was found on the embankment between Gay Street and the Cumberland River, near Riverfront Park.
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the author claims that Riley Strain's stepdad Chris Whiteid spoke to his mom multiple times a day on March 8th when there is no evidence of this in the provided information. Secondly, the author quotes Whiteid as saying 'Nobody knows what happened to Riley', which contradicts previous statements made by authorities that they have found Strain's bank card and are searching for him. Thirdly, the article implies that Whiteid sounds like his usual polite self in an interaction with a police officer when there is no evidence of this either.
The article implies that Whiteid sounds like his usual polite self in an interaction with a police officer. However, there is no evidence of this either.
The author claims that Riley Strain's stepdad Chris Whiteid spoke to his mom multiple times a day on March 8th. However, the provided information does not support this claim.
Fallacies
(70%)
The article contains several examples of informal fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority when he quotes Chris Whiteid as saying that nobody knows what happened to Riley Strain and that there is no evidence of foul play. This statement implies that the police investigation should be trusted without question, which is not necessarily true. Additionally, the article contains several examples of inflammatory rhetoric such as
Put yourself in our shoes
Bias
(80%)
The article contains a statement from the stepfather of Riley Strain that suggests they are having difficult conversations as the search for their missing son continues. The author also mentions that Whiteid believes 'somebody's seen something, somebody knows something.' This implies a bias towards speculation and conjecture rather than factual reporting.
Everybody knows it, everybody's thinking it -- those conversations are starting to happen
I believe somebodys seen something, somebodys knows something.
Riley Strain is a missing college student who was in Nashville for a fraternity trip and disappeared after getting kicked out of a bar.
The search for Riley Strain has moved from the banks of the Cumberland River to the Cheatham Dam in Ashland City, where crews did not find anything connected to him.
Water temperatures can also affect a search and the way things rise. For now, Anderson said waters were cool, but he expects temperatures to rise in the near future.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(50%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the author claims that a couple interacted with Riley Strain before he vanished when there is no evidence to support this claim. Secondly, the author quotes Chris Dingman as saying that the interaction occurred after Strain was seen on body camera footage speaking with a Metro Nashville police officer which contradicts what Dingman said earlier in the article. Thirdly, the author states that some cameras captured Strain making his way through downtown but there are gaps and cameras pointed in the wrong direction which makes it hard to know exactly where to look for him. This is not true as body camera footage shows Strain being escorted by police officers.
The article claims that a couple interacted with Riley Strain before he vanished but there is no evidence to support this claim.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several fallacies. The first is an appeal to authority when it states that the mother reached out and saw Riley Strain before he went missing. This statement implies that the mother has some sort of authoritative knowledge or connection to Riley's disappearance, which may not be true. Additionally, there are no quotes from any experts in law enforcement or criminal investigations to support this claim.
The mother reached out and saw Riley before he went missing
They (the couple) were able to contact the police
Bias
(85%)
The author is biased towards the idea that there was a couple who interacted with Riley Strain before he vanished. The author uses phrases such as 'incredible news' and quotes from Chris Dingman saying things like 'That is literally incredible news'. This shows a clear bias in favor of this information.
Couple:
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (0%)
There are multiple examples of conflicts of interest found in the article. The author has a personal relationship with Riley Strain's mother and is therefore likely to have a bias towards her story.
The author mentions that he knows Riley Strain's mother, which could affect his objectivity.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The author has a conflict of interest on the topic of Riley Strain as they are reporting on his disappearance and have also reported on Chris Dingman who is involved in the case. The author's personal relationship with the mother of Riley Strain's friend may also be considered a potential conflict.
The article reports that Tom Palmer has previously covered the story of missing person Chris Dingman, which could create a conflict if he is reporting on Riley Strain and his disappearance.
Tom Palmer mentions in the article that he spoke with the mother of Riley Strain's friend, which may be considered a potential conflict as it creates an appearance of bias towards her.
