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[ Presenting plain-text part of multi-format email ] Ever wonder why soooooo manypeople put sooooooo much faith in U.S. opinion polls? Not only are the polls themselves subject to manipulation, but so are the reports of their findings. American media are deceiving the American readers. The following from Counterpunch: AP Misrepresents Poll in Headline Our friend Chris Kromm, director of the Institute for Southern Studies, examined a March 15 AP news story on a poll on pro and anti war sentiment among We the People and promptly dashed off the following letter to AP: March 15, 2003 Dear Associated Press, Today, the AP filed a story with the following headline: "Poll: Bush Has Solid Support for War." Many readers, of course, will read only that headline, taking with it the message that the U.S. public overwhelmingly supports the Bush Administration's drive to war in Iraq. However, after wading through reporter Will Lester's spin to actually read the poll results, one finds the exact opposite to be true. Buried in paragraph six, we find the relevant numbers: "The poll found that about half of adults, 47 percent, say they support military action to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power and disarm Iraq, even without the support of the United Nations Security Council. Almost four in 10, 37 percent, said the United States should do that only with full support of the Security Council; 13 percent said the United States should not take military action even if the Security Council agrees." President Bush has resolutely stated he will prosecute a war against Iraq without the "full support of the [UN] Security Council" -- and appears poised to do so. This means that fully 50% (37% + 13%) of those polled OPPOSE the Bush Administration policy on Iraq, as compared to 47% in favor. Why is the Associated Press afraid to honestly report the poll's findings? What can justify such an astonishingly misleading headline, followed by reporting from Mr. Lester with a similarly suspect message -- when the actual facts presented in the article point to precisely the opposite conclusion? I await an explanation, and hopefully, a very public correction. Sincerely, Chris Kromm Director, Institute for Southern Studies Durham, NC _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk