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THE LITTLE SECRETS OF THE POLLSTERS
Former Prime Minister John George Diefenbaker
was fond of saying that "polls are for dogs." He
may have been right. There is growing public suspicion and
cynicism about polls in Canada, especially when it comes to
social issues. For example, we are advised that a poll taken
in November 2002 indicates that 78% of Canadians believe that
women should have the choice to have an abortion. The question
posed, however, did not ask at what stage of pregnancy and
for what reason should the abortion be performed (i.e. to
save the mother's life or because the child is the wrong sex?).
By including factors such as these in the question, would
have changed dramatically the outcome of the poll. Besides,
if abortion, is to be performed, who else would make that
decision? The question asked, and its results are, in effect,
meaningless.
In the same poll about abortion, 55% of respondents
were supposedly in favour of physician-assisted suicide, 50%
in favour of pot-smoking and an astonishing 48% approved of
sex clubs! According to another poll, 80% support multiculturalism.
But what exactly is meant by the word "multiculturalism?"
Of course, when it comes to the political correctness issue
of homosexuality, the sky's the limit. Supposedly, 53% of
Canadians support same-sex unions and 80% regard homosexuality
as "normal", whatever that implies. We do not know
whether respondents are agreeing that homosexuality occurs
in society or whether they are deeming it acceptable.
The results of these so-called polls are being
thrown at us thick and fast, and Canadians are scratching
their heads wondering from where they are coming. Certainly,
if they do not reflect what most of us and our friends believe,
how do the pollsters arrive at these conclusions? Are random
names taken from the phone book and questions posed in equal
numbers in different areas across the country? The responses
in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver would be far different from
those in small centres or rural areas. Are the questions by
any chance posed to members of special interest organizations
spread across the country? It would be unethical for the pollsters
to obtain results this way, but who would know the difference?
Canadians might well ask what is going on.
What are these polls about? Unfortunately, in some cases polls
have become instruments of propaganda, with questions designed
to generate a preferential outcome in order to manipulate
public opinion, with "favourable" polls advancing
a particular bias being reported. In effect, the polling results
become insidious lies masquerading as news. The objective
of such manipulation is to influence public opinion and undermine
our democracy.
How the Manipulation is Done
Polls designed to manipulate public opinion
are carried out using the following methodology:
- Readers or viewers are saturated with
"reporting" that reflects a particular bias;
- Public opinion polls are activated in
concert with like-minded organizations on social issue campaigns
which reflect the bias;
- Viewers and readers are proselytized (manipulated)
into espousing the bias when these poll results are treated
as "news";
- Promoting the "bandwagon" psychology
(the banal tendency of those who do not have a strong ideological
foundation to aspire to the side perceived to be in the
majority) is then put in place.
Examples of troubling polls include those
leading up to the November 2002 US elections. None of the
left-wing media in the US reported polls showing Mr. Bush
winning control of the House of Representatives and the Senate,
which, in fact, he did Rather, the Democratic Party was reported
as having the advantage in that election.
In regards to polling on the Canadian political
scene, the EKOS Polling Company, which is the number one supplier
of the polling data for the federal government, recently concluded
a poll commissioned by the CBC showing that the Alliance has
fallen to fourth place among the political parties. Competitors,
Ipsos-Reid and Environics, found that the Alliance support
was in second place between 19% and 20%. Which is right? Which
is pushing an agenda?
Canadians should be forewarned - don't always
believe the polls and treat their results with extreme caution.
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