But…. They picked up some signal, and the examples they give are both correlated with each other, and with our intuition? So what “is” that signal, and if it correlates well with the left-right dimension, what does it matter if it’s not exactly the same, or not causal in any direction?
All I can think of is that using this data to judge biases could be defeated by a simple search-and-replace if anyone wanted to. But I doubt publishers cate enough about obscure papers calling them conservative to change their language. (If they do stop calling all foreigners “illegal aliens”, that’s would actually be quite the feat for a lowly department of semantics)
It can be defeated by engaging in sarcasm. It can be defeated by using right-wing language to construct a left wing argument (one of the most straight-forward ways to persuade someone is to speak their language), one can twist an argument entirely by minor adjustments to speech.
The issue here is a simple one, that in communication, language cannot be divorced from context. Laughing at a birthday party means you're having fun. Laughing at a funeral means you're distressed. Laughing itself has no meaning, and words themselves have no meaning. You don't 'pick up' signals, you interpret something as a signal within a frame of reference.
This methodology is right in every case where it is trivial, and thus unnecessary, it is likely wrong in every case where it matters. And that is an actively bad combination.
All I can think of is that using this data to judge biases could be defeated by a simple search-and-replace if anyone wanted to. But I doubt publishers cate enough about obscure papers calling them conservative to change their language. (If they do stop calling all foreigners “illegal aliens”, that’s would actually be quite the feat for a lowly department of semantics)