HOW IS PUBLIC OPINION SHAPED?
by OPOVV, ©2016
(Mar. 10, 2016) — The large envelope came in the mail yesterday and in it was a questionnaire that, if filled out and postmarked within 2 days, my participation would be “greatly appreciated.”
Question #1: American Indians were an enthusiastic audience of “F Troop.”
A. Totally supportive
B. Halfway supportive
C. Mostly-maybe supportive
Question #2: American guests of German POW camps were an enthusiastic audience of “Hogan’s Heroes.”
A. Very true
B. Beyond true
C. Really “You wouldn’t believe it’s true”
In reality, the answer to question #1 was the same as the rest of America, as was the answer for question #2, but you can see by limiting the possible choices of answers one can manipulate the outcome.
Let’s say you want a positive rating for “F Troop” so you canvas a sample group of 1,000 people. No matter how they answer, you’re going to receive a 100% SUPPORTIVE conclusion, since all the possible answers contain the word “supportive.”
Same with question #2: ALL viewers were “enthusiastic” over the program.
Polls can be skewed in other ways besides manipulating the possible answers. Let’s imagine you’re a bakery and a new bakery opened up just down the street from you. You decide to conduct a poll to decide which bakery is better, yours or theirs.
Question #1: This independent poll wishes to know which bakery is the better, the upstart or the established one.
A. The new one is almost as good.
B. The upstart bakery is trying really hard.
C. We applaud the efforts of the newly-opened bakery.
And the last example of information mining is:
Question: Do you agree with “Stop Trump Now”?
A. Yes
B. No
But by answering the question, it means that the person who answers understands the question, and in this case, the question, or the phrase – “Stop Trump Now” — is a misnomer; a misleading meaningless phrase, which is in parallel with “Ignore the Constitution Now.”
There is no “Stop Trump Now.” All there is are gullible ignoramuses drinking the Kool-Aid at the tainted watering hole of public opinion. Truth be told, every ballot cast during the primaries should’ve been for Trump, just as every ballot cast during the general election should be for Trump.
[Note to reader: Why the “Stop Trump Now”? Is it because, as the governor in Blazing Saddles once said, “We gotta protect our phony-bologna jobs”?]