Gallup, USA Today, CNN Polls Come Under Fire

The Washington Post ^ | 3/22/02 | Richard Morin and Claudia Deane

[GeneD]

The hugely influential Gallup Poll of Islamic Countries released last month continues to make news--not all of it good for the Gallup Organization, USA Today and CNN.

The National Council on Public Polls, a leading professional watchdog organization, recently posted on its Web site a stinging rebuke of CNN and USA Today for the way their reporters reported the overall results of the nine-nation survey project.

But now it appears that Gallup itself provided reporters with the sensational characterizations that were the primary target of NCPP criticism.

[GeneD]

I posted this earlier today, but quoted too freely from the story, thus running afoul of the Washington Post Company's love of First Amendment rights. But Admin Moderator suggested I post it again, more heavily excerpted, so here it is. Just click on the link if you want the whole thing. To make up for the paucity of content, I herewith include a March 6 press release from the National Council on Public Polls Web site, to wit:

Gallup did an important and fascinating study of reaction to the terrorist attacks on the United States on 9/11. The study drew such wide attention President Bush, according to USA Today, said we "must do more to improve [our] image in the Islamic world." A State Department spokesman also commented on the study. Given this study's prominent attention the National Council on Public Polls feels some comments are in order.

1. News stories based on the Gallup poll reported results in the aggregate without regard to the population of the countries they represent. Kuwait, with less than 2 million Muslims, was treated the same as Indonesia, which has over 200 million Muslims. The "aggregate" quoted in the media was actually the average for the countries surveyed regardless of the size of their populations.

2. The nine countries in the Gallup study do not represent the Muslim world. Gallup never claimed it had a representative sample of Muslim countries. However its findings, as reported by USA Today, claims to be a study of the Muslim world. CNN also reported a single number that represented Muslims. The aggregate figures do not even represent the results across the nine countries. The nine countries in the Gallup study comprise only about 40% of the world's Muslim population. Four of the excluded countries had larger populations of Muslims than many of those that were included. Excluded were India, Bangladesh, Egypt and Nigeria. On the other hand almost two thirds of the Muslims in the nine countries Gallup studied live in Indonesia and Pakistan. (Note: both CNN and USA Today did report results for the nine countries in addition to the aggregate data.)

3. The surveys were samples of all residents of the countries surveyed, not only Muslims.

4. We must rely on the news organizations that have reported the study, and our comments relate to the ways in which the research results have been reported in the media. Nothing in this statement is intended to be critical of this important research.

[Kermit]

This is a first, the media is criticizing a poll and a polling company. I think the only reason for this is to protect the image of Muslims. If the same skewed aggregations were used to make conservatives look bad, they'd never, ever criticize the poll or make an issue of it. This shows the priorities of the media.

[smoothsailing]

"It shows the priorities of the media"

Well, that says it all.

The media used to like this guy.

[VOA]

Gallup, USA Today, CNN Polls Come Under Fire

I suspected the polls in the Islamic countries may have had flawed methodologies.
Not one reported that any of the people polled responded by uvulating.

(That's the insane, tongue-wagging scream that you'll see in movies such as "March or Die".)
Of course, I'm being facetious.

[a_Turk]

Kermy, if 90% of the Turks agreed with the US and 1% of all of the other lands polled did the same, then these fools made it look like 10% agreed with US action. If all the Arabs thought the Jews crashed the planes, but none of the Turks thought so, then the pollsters averaged it in such a way for you to say that most muslims thought that the Jews were behind the job.

See how they err'd? Why would the pollsters do that? Are they nuts? Is journalism the science of pulling the wool over the reader's eyes?

[zandtar]

I remember from back when Clintoon was still infesting the White House, and some polls were done. Someone dug up the fact that those doing the polling had only contacted people in New York and LA. Gee, wonder why they were coming out with such high numbers in favor of him? I remember it got kicked around for a few days then was quickly buried.

Polls are like statistics. You can take any agenda you want, and manipulate it so you can get the desired results you want. And the ignorant majority will eat it up as factual.

[a_Turk]

You can take any agenda you want, and manipulate it so you can get the desired results you want.

Why would one want to develop this result, I'd wonder. Really don't understand what agenda it was to have served.

[browardchad]

The nine countries in the Gallup study do not represent the Muslim world

Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey do not represent the Muslim world? They don’t represent the entire Muslim world, granted, but they do represent 40% of it.

From the Washington Post article:
None of this should suggest that the headlines from the Gallup Islamic poll would have been dramatically different if appropriate adjustments had been made or if only the country-by-country figures had been used. However you slice and dice the data, the fact remains that many Muslims in these nine countries don't like the United States.

This is odd, since most of the article goes to great pains to point out flaws in the data analysis. My guess is that this article was written in response to pressure from the ever-present multitude of Muslim organizations determined to prove that they are poor helpless victims of prejudice worldwide. (“Never mind all those slit throats, bodies blown to pieces and cheering at the death of innocents, we’re the victims here – and don’t forget it!”)

[zandtar]

Really don't understand what agenda it was to have served.

In this case, I think it would be to sensationalize it to the maximum as an 'eye catching' story. I remember seeing something on Fox where they talked about another show (60 minutes I think?) doing a recorded "poll" of people in Kuwait with the same sort of questions. The televised segment showed what appeared to be 100% against the US. However, when the facts came out it was discovered that this was only 1 table of 5 people in a cafe of 100 people. And, that the television crew had interviewed the entire bar. Everyone except for this table were pro-US. But yet it was these people that got put on the airwaves as representing "everyone".

[a_Turk]

Look pal, I certainly take issue with anyone throwing me in with the Arabs and averaging my opinions and values in with theirs.

[Kermit]

If you had followed the American media and pollsters for the past 15 years, you too would NOT be surprised at a pollster doing this. I'm not. I'm surprised the media has criticized the pollster. I tried to figure out why the media critiqued the poll this time. I could only explain it by looking at the target. Conservatives and libertarians have been targets of this kind of polling for years without any media criticism.

[Torie]

Pretty disgusting. Bad marks all around. And if there is any time to be accurate in explaining the diversity in the Muslim world, now is the time. The intellectual laziness surrounding all this is appalling.

[One More Time]

Why would one want to develop this result, I'd wonder. Really don't understand what agenda it was to have served.

I believe that there are certain powerful people that wish to manipulate events for their own benefit. Putting out false information that tends to reinforce prejudices gets people to react emotionally. Hatred is a powerful emotion that often overwhelms rational thought making people easier to manipulate. As to who and for what purpose we are being manipulated I am not quite sure yet.

[montag813]

Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey do not represent the Muslim world? They don’t represent the entire Muslim world, granted, but they do represent 40% of it.

According to my calculations, that represents over 75% of the "Muslim world" on a population basis.

[montag813]

===TRANSMISSION====

THIS POLL WAS AN EVIL PLOT CONCOCTED BY THE MOSSAD!

ALL MUSLIMS LOVE AMERICA. iSN'T THAT OBVIOUS???

ONLY JEWS, WHO BOMBED THE WTC TO OBTAIN BLOOD FOR PURIM PASTRIES, WOULD DEVISE SUCH A SATANIC SCHEME TO DIVIDE AMERICA AND IT'S FREEDOM-LOVING MUSLIM FRIENDS WORLDWIDE.

===END OF TRANSMISSION===RIYADH 045BB ==

[a_Turk]

You missed the point I think.

[montag813]

Excluded were India, Bangladesh, Egypt and Nigeria. On the other hand almost two thirds of the Muslims in the nine countries Gallup studied live in Indonesia and Pakistan.

This "point" is irrelevant. One hardly thinks of India, Bangladesh or Nigeria when thinking of Islamist Terrorism. even Egypt produced only two of the 19 WTC bombers. Saudi Arabia's population is far smaller than Egypt's yet produced 79% of the hijackers.

The poll did not purport to portray the "Muslim world" per se, but more a partrait of the nations most in focus. This is a very silly complaint.

[ellery]

To the contrary -- the media loooooves to promote the idea that everyone overseas hates us (remember a similarly flawed "survey" of western nations after 9/11 that showed that most think the US is a big bully? The one our friend Maddie Allbright was involved in?) That, in turn, plays into the ravings of the "Blame America First" crowd. I'd take these polls with a grain of salt.

[Kermit]

You may be right.