A report by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland entitled “Misinformation and the 2010 Election, A Study of the US Electorate”, published December 10, 2010, details the failings of the reporting industry to fully inform the electorate. The study took the opportunity of the recent midterm elections to poll voters on their knowledge of crucial events. The report may explain why, so often, groups appear to vote against their best interests and in opposition to empirical facts.

A study of misinformation raises the somewhat delicate question of what is true. When dealing with topics that have been highly politicized, it is common to default to the position that all perceptions are relative and treatment of any position as more or less true is itself inherently political. We believe that such a position is at odds with what is necessary for well-functioning democracy. It is indeed very important for a healthy democratic process to be open to a wide range of positions. At the same time, it is essential that there be means and institutions for achieving consensus about key factors that ultimately affect public policy decisions.

Media are not just doing a poor job of informing the media but, in the case of Fox News, are deliberately attempting to keep the public misinformed and promote a specific agenda. According to the study Fox News viewers are the dumbest when it comes to answering correctly on key issues.

In eight of the nine questions below, Fox News placed first in the percentage of those who were misinformed (they placed second in the question on TARP). That’s a pretty high batting average for journalistic fraud. Here is a list of what Fox News viewers believe that just aint so:

* 91 percent believe the stimulus legislation lost jobs
* 72 percent believe the health reform law will increase the deficit
* 72 percent believe the economy is getting worse
* 60 percent believe climate change is not occurring
* 49 percent believe income taxes have gone up
* 63 percent believe the stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts
* 56 percent believe Obama initiated the GM/Chrysler bailout
* 38 percent believe that most Republicans opposed TARP
* 63 percent believe Obama was not born in the U.S. (or that it is unclear)

The conclusion is inescapable. Fox News is deliberately misinforming its viewers and it is doing so for a reason. Every issue above is one in which the Republican Party had a vested interest.

Misinformed voters are a bigger threat to democracy than ‘terrorism’. Even worse, Fox News, its been revealed, deliberately manipulates the public perception on global warming

From: Sammon, Bill
To: 169 -SPECIAL REPORT; 036 -FOX.WHU; 054 -FNSunday; 030 -Root (FoxNews.Com); 050 -Senior Producers; 051 -Producers; 069 -Politics; 005 -Washington
Cc: Clemente, Michael; Stack, John; Wallace, Jay; Smith, Sean
Sent: Tue Dec 08 12:49:51 2009
Subject: Given the controversy over the veracity of climate change data…

…we should refrain from asserting that the planet has warmed (or cooled) in any given period without IMMEDIATELY pointing out that such theories are based upon data that critics have called into question. It is not our place as journalists to assert such notions as facts, especially as this debate intensifies.

This is why Wikileaks and whistleblowers are important. The public needs access to original source material in order to reach its own conclusions, not those of the reporting industry.