Fake balance
Reflexively airing an 'on the other hand' the author never actually held, to seem even-handed.
What it looks like
The phrases and patterns that give it away:
on the other hand…that said…however, some might argue…
In the wild
A real one, quoted verbatim — the underlined words are the tell.
“That said, there are ways to create content that's digestible and useful to readers.”
HubSpot ↗ — marketing blog post
Why AI produces it
Instruction tuning rewards sounding measured and even-handed, so the model manufactures counterpoints the author never intended. It sits close to weasel words, but that borrows a vague authority while this stages a counterpoint the author never held.
How UnSlopIt handles it
UnSlopIt flags fake balance and rewrites around it — cutting the tell while keeping your meaning, facts, and voice. You see exactly what changed, as a redline plus a clean version.
Related tells
Knowing the tell is half of it. The five-step method covers how to fix a whole draft, not just one pattern.