Saturday, October 25, 2008

David Moore: Author of the Opinion Makers

Apparently, before the war in Iraq, Gallup ran an experiment.

Sure, we all know most people (70%?) supported the war.  But Gallup asked a follow up question.  They asked supporters of the war if they'd be upset if we didn't go to war, and they asked people against the war if they'd be upset if we did.  This question would be asked within a minute of asking the interviewee whether or not they supported the war.  I believe I am relaying the results of that survey correctly.  40% of Americans didn't seem to care if their preference was followed.

He also points to the leading way the corporate media (which owns most of the polls) asked about Abu Ghraib.  He says that up to four times the pollster would have to educate the respondent about the "abuses" at Abu Ghraib.  Since they used the word "abuse" four times, of course it wouldn't sound like it was actually torture.

No comments: