The Misperception Poll

Once again, it is the beginning of the month and time for another PIPA/Knowledge Networks study..  Once again, it gives me zero pleasure to report the results from the September study titled Misperceptions, The Media and The Iraq War:

• 48 percent believe US troops found evidence of close pre-war links between Iraq and the al-Qaeda terrorist group
• 22 percent thought troops found weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq
• 25 percent believed that world public opinion favored the USA going to war with Iraq
   
• 60 percent of the people surveyed held at least one of the three misperceptions listed above
   
• 23 percent of those who held none of the three misperceptions supported the war in Iraq
• 53 percent who held one misperception supported the war in Iraq 
• 86 percent who held all three misperception supported the war in Iraq

Who is to blame?

• 80 percent of Fox viewers hold at least one misperception
• 71 percent of CBS viewers hold at least one misperception
• 55 percent of CNN viewers hold at least one misperception
• 55 percent of NBC viewers hold at least one misperception
• 47 percent of print media readers hold at least one misperception
• 23 percent of NPR/PBS hold at least one misperception

Marvin Kalb commented: "People who have had a strong belief that there is an unholy alliance between politics and the press now have more evidence."