Editing Bias (section)

===Conflicts of interest===
{{Main|Conflict of interest}}
A conflict of interest is when a [[person]] or [[organization|association]] has intersecting interests ([[finance|financial]], [[interest (emotion)|personal]], etc.) which could potentially corrupt. The potential conflict is autonomous of actual [[Inappropriateness|improper actions]], it can be found and intentionally defused before [[corruption]], or the appearance of corruption, happens. "A conflict of interest is a set of circumstances that creates a risk that professional judgement or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest."<ref>{{cite book|first1=Bernard|last1=Lo|first2=Marilyn J.|last2=Field|title=Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education, and Practice|publisher=[[National Academies Press]]|location=[[Washington, D.C.]]|year=2009|isbn=978-0-309-13188-9}}</ref> It exists if the circumstances are sensibly accepted to present a hazard that choices made may be unduly affected by auxiliary interests.<ref name=Cain>{{cite journal | last1 = Cain | first1 = D.M. | last2 = Detsky | first2 = A.S. | year = 2008 | title = Everyone's a Little Bit Biased (Even Physicians) | journal = JAMA | volume = 299 | issue = 24 | pages = 2893–289 | doi = 10.1001/jama.299.24.2893 | pmid = 18577735 }}</ref>

====Corruption====
A conflict of interest arises when a decision-maker participates in a corrupt act that seeks to influence the outcome in favor of a specific individual, organization, or entity in a decision-making process.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rose |first1=Cecily |title=Corruption and conflicts of interests in the United Kingdom |journal=Corruption and Conflicts of Interest |date=28 February 2014 |pages=150–166 |doi=10.4337/9781781009352.00018}}</ref> For example, attempts to solicit a [[bribe]] or [[Kickback (bribery)|kickback]] in exchange for favoring a party creates a conflict of interest.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jacobsson |first1=Katarina |title='A Token of Gratitude'? A Morally Ambiguous Case of Bribery |journal=Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention |date=June 2006 |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=3–22 |doi=10.1080/14043850600643462}}</ref> A perceived conflict of interest may also arise in an individual who is offered such a payment, even if it is declined, particularly in situations where the attempt to bribe is not reported.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pringle |first1=Sam |title=SIB Guidance on Conflicts of Interest |url=https://niopa.qub.ac.uk/bitstream/NIOPA/13999/1/SIB-Guidance-on-Conflicts-of-Interest.pdf |website=The Strategic Investment Board |access-date=7 February 2025 |date=2021}}</ref>

Laws restricting monetary transaction is appropriate can differ between jurisdictions based upon their criminal laws. For example, some nations criminalize the receipt of political [[campaign contributions]] in the form of cash, while other nations permit cash donations provided that donors otherwise adhere to election law.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

====Favoritism====
{{Main|In-group favoritism}}
Favoritism, sometimes known as in-group favoritism, or in-group bias, refers to a pattern of favoring members of one's [[Ingroups and outgroups|in-group]] over out-group members. This can be expressed in evaluation of others, in allocation of resources, and in many other ways.<ref name=aronson>Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., & Akert, R. (2010). ''Social psychology''. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1= Taylor|first1= Donald M.|last2= Doria|first2= Janet R.|date= April 1981|title= Self-serving and group-serving bias in attribution|journal= [[Journal of Social Psychology]]|volume= 113|issue= 2|pages= 201–211|issn= 0022-4545|doi=10.1080/00224545.1981.9924371}}<!--|access-date=11 November 2014 --></ref> This has been researched by [[psychologist]]s, especially [[social psychology|social psychologists]], and linked to [[group conflict]] and [[prejudice]]. [[Cronyism]] is favoritism of long-standing friends, especially by appointing them to positions of authority, regardless of their qualifications.<ref>{{cite dictionary | title = Cronyism | url = http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cronyism | dictionary = The Free Dictionary | access-date = October 1, 2015}}</ref> [[Nepotism]] is favoritism granted to [[Kinship|relatives]].<ref>{{cite dictionary | title = Nepotism | dictionary = The Free Dictionary | url = http://www.thefreedictionary.com/nepotism | access-date = September 24, 2015}}</ref><ref name="dictionary">[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nepotism "Nepotism."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125235043/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nepotism |date=2016-01-25 }} Dictionary.com. Retrieved 20 June 2013.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=In Praise of Nepotism: A Natural History |work=[[Adam Bellow]] Booknotes interview transcript |url=http://booknotes.org/Transcript/?ProgramID=1742|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926013727/http://booknotes.org/Transcript/?ProgramID=1742 |archive-date=26 September 2010 |access-date=10 September 2013}}</ref><ref name="Article Nepotism">{{cite web|title=Article Nepotism |work=New Catholic Dictionary |url=http://catholic-forum.com/saints/ncd05726.htm |access-date=2007-07-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224025607/http://www.catholic-forum.com/Saints/ncd05726.htm |archive-date=February 24, 2007 }}</ref>

====Lobbying====
[[File:Tabakslobby.jpg|thumb|Box offered by [[tobacco lobbyists]] to Dutch [[Member of the European Parliament]] [[Kartika Liotard]] in September 2013]]
{{Main|Lobbying}}

Lobbying is the attempt to influence choices made by [[government|administrators]], frequently [[legislator|lawmakers]] or individuals from [[regulatory agency|administrative agencies]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lobbying|title=lobbying|work=Merriam-Webster Dictionary.Com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150917052337/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lobbying|archive-date=2015-09-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/82529.stm|title=lobbying|work=BBC News|date=1 October 2008|access-date=24 March 2010|location=London|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103102647/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/82529.stm|archive-date=3 January 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lobbyist|title=lobbyist|work=Random House Unabridged Dictionary|year=2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002030958/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lobbyist|archive-date=2015-10-02}}</ref> Lobbyists may be among a legislator's [[Electoral district|constituencies]], or not; they may engage in lobbying as a [[business]], or not. Lobbying is often spoken of with [[contempt]], the implication is that people with inordinate [[Power (social and political)|socioeconomic power]] are [[corruption|corrupting]] the [[law]] in order to serve their own interests. When people who have a [[duty]] to act on behalf of others, such as elected officials with a duty to serve their constituents' interests or more broadly the [[common good]], stand to benefit by shaping the law to serve the interests of some private parties, there is a conflict of interest. This can lead to all sides in a debate looking to sway the issue by means of lobbyists.

====Regulatory issues====
{{Main|Industry self-regulation|Regulatory capture}}
Self-regulation is the process whereby an organization monitors its own adherence to legal, ethical, or safety standards, rather than have an outside, independent agency such as a third party entity monitor and enforce those standards.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Self-regulation dictionary definition | url = http://www.yourdictionary.com/self-regulation | website = YourDictionary | access-date = October 2, 2015 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151005144250/http://www.yourdictionary.com/self-regulation | archive-date = October 5, 2015 }}</ref> Self-regulation of any group can create a conflict of interest. If any organization, such as a corporation or government bureaucracy, is asked to eliminate unethical behavior within their own group, it may be in their interest in the short run to eliminate the appearance of unethical behavior, rather than the behavior itself.

Regulatory capture is a form of [[political corruption]] that can occur when a [[regulatory agency]], created to act in the [[public interest]], instead advances the commercial or political concerns of special [[interest group]]s that dominate the industry or sector it is charged with regulating.<ref>{{cite web | title = Regulatory Capture Definition | url = http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/regulatory-capture.asp | publisher = Investopedia | access-date = October 2, 2015 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151003140220/http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/regulatory-capture.asp | archive-date = October 3, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/regulatory-capture-101-1412544509|title=Regulatory Capture 101|date=2014-10-06|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|access-date=2017-09-08|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903202258/https://www.wsj.com/articles/regulatory-capture-101-1412544509|archive-date=2017-09-03}}</ref> Regulatory capture occurs because groups or individuals with a high-stakes interest in the outcome of policy or regulatory decisions can be expected to focus their resources and energies in attempting to gain the policy outcomes they prefer, while members of the public, each with only a tiny individual stake in the outcome, will ignore it altogether.<ref name="nyt-tbl">Timothy B. Lee, [https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/03/opinion/03lee.html "Entangling the Web"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511175150/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/03/opinion/03lee.html |date=2011-05-11 }} ''The New York Times'' (August 3, 2006). Retrieved April 1, 2011</ref> Regulatory capture is a risk to which a regulatory agency is exposed by its very nature.<ref>Gary Adams, Sharon Hayes, Stuart Weierter and John Boyd, [http://www.iceaustralia.com/apsacc2011/pdf/papers07/day1_24oct07/StreamA2/RegulatoryCaptureManagingTheRisks_JohnBoyd.pdf "Regulatory Capture: Managing the Risk"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720083041/http://www.iceaustralia.com/apsacc2011/pdf/papers07/day1_24oct07/StreamA2/RegulatoryCaptureManagingTheRisks_JohnBoyd.pdf |date=2011-07-20 }} ICE Australia, International Conferences and Events (PDF) (October 24, 2007). Retrieved April 14, 2011</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/IW3P/IB/2013/01/07/000158349_20130107132037/Rendered/PDF/wps6305.pdf |title=Small is beautiful, at least in high-income democracies: the distribution of policy-making responsibility, electoral accountability, and incentives for rent extraction |author=Hamilton, Alexander |access-date=2013-05-24 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005005009/http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/IW3P/IB/2013/01/07/000158349_20130107132037/Rendered/PDF/wps6305.pdf |archive-date=2013-10-05 }}, World Bank.</ref>

====Shilling====
{{Main|Shill}}
Shilling is deliberately giving spectators the feeling that one is an energetic autonomous [[customer|client]] of a [[seller|vendor]] for whom one is working. The effectiveness of shilling relies on [[crowd psychology]] to encourage other onlookers or audience members to purchase the goods or services (or accept the ideas being marketed). Shilling is illegal in some places, but legal in others.<ref>{{cite court |url=http://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/x030044/greeting-cards-america-inc-et-al |litigants=FTC v. Greeting Cards of America, Inc. et al - USA |court=S.D. Fla. |date=2004}}</ref> An example of shilling is [[Review#Bought review|paid reviews]] that give the impression of being autonomous opinions.