{"id":1978142,"date":"2023-07-20T03:15:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-20T07:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-gun-hating-media-use-slanted-surveys-to-manipulate-public-opinion\/"},"modified":"2023-07-20T03:20:32","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T07:20:32","slug":"how-gun-hating-media-use-slanted-surveys-to-manipulate-public-opinion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-gun-hating-media-use-slanted-surveys-to-manipulate-public-opinion\/","title":{"rendered":"Media&#8217;s manipulation of public opinion through biased surveys on gun control."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhow-gun-hating-media-use-slanted-surveys-to-manipulate-public-opinion%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1978142&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>Gun \u2062control \u200dadvocates often point to \u2064polls showing overwhelming \u200bsupport for gun control. For instance, in May, a headline \u2062for an NPR\/PBS Newshour survey proclaimed: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spokanepublicradio.org\/2023-05-24\/poll-most-americans-say-curbing-gun-violence-is-more-important-than-gun-rights\" target=\"_blank\"\u200c rel=\"noreferrer \u2064noopener\">Most Americans \u200bsay curbing \u200bgun violence is \u2063more important than gun\u200c rights<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2064    <\/p>\n<p>But \u200bis that really\u200c the \u200cchoice Americans face \u2063on \u200cgun control?\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto;\u2064 margin-right: \u2062auto; text-align:\u2063 center; \u2064\"\u2064 id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-679100052\">\n<div \u2063id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" \u200cclass=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-07b39b4a3d60cdf1a59371e2b25cb5a1 \u200cfdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\"\u200c id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-07b39b4a3d60cdf1a59371e2b25cb5a1\"><\/div>\n<p> \u200d   <\/p>\n<p>The \u200bsurvey asked, \u201cDo you\u2063 think\u200b it is more important \u200cto control \u2064gun\u200d violence or to protect gun\u2064 rights?\u201d \u2063It \u2064<a href=\"https:\/\/maristpoll.marist.edu\/polls\/gun-violence-in-the-united-states\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">found<\/a> that American adults preferred \u2062reducing \u2063gun \u200dviolence \u200c(60 percent) \u2062over protecting \u200dgun rights (38 percent). \u2062Besides extensive \u200breporting on the \u2064poll by NPR and \u200dPBS,\u200b the\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-gun-hating-media-use-slanted-surveys-to-manipulate-public-opinion\/\" title=\"Media's manipulation of public opinion through biased surveys on gun control.\">survey\u2062 received\u200c massive \u200bnews coverage<\/a> in such\u200b outlets \u200cas\u00a0<a\u2064 href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2023\/05\/25\/uvalde-shooting-poll-gun-rights\/70256752007\/\" target=\"_blank\" \u200drel=\"noreferrer noopener\">USA Today<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a \u200chref=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/blogs\/blog-briefing-room\/4018730-60-percent-in-new-poll-say-controlling-gun-violence-more-important-than-protecting-gun-rights\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer \u2064noopener\">The\u2064 Hill<\/a>, with headlines echoing NPR\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> \u200b  \u200b <\/p>\n<p>The problem\u2064 is, however, \u2063that while the \u2062media \u200dlabel gun\u2062 control \u200cproponents as\u200b supporting \u201csafety\u201d and wanting to \u201creduce \u200cviolence,\u201d\u200d people on\u2062 both\u200b sides of the \u2064gun control debate advocate for such things. \u201cGun\u200b rights\u201d \u2062do not\u200d inherently imply increased gun violence. Indeed,\u200d such violence can\u200c be \u2063curbed by\u200c protecting \u200cthe right of people to \u2064defend \u200dthemselves\u200c against it.<\/p>\n<p> \u2063 \u200d  <\/p>\n<p>To\u2062 create a more\u2062 balanced survey, the Crime Prevention Research \u200bCenter, which I \u2062head, \u2063hired McLaughlin and Associates in June \u2064and\u2062 reworked this problematic\u200c NPR\/PBS question.\u2063 Instead, \u2063we <a href=\"https:\/\/crimeresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Screenshot-2023-07-10-at-1.37.52-AM-1400x788.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer \u200dnoopener\">asked<\/a>, \u201cWhich of the following methods\u200c do you think is\u200d more\u200d effective \u200din reducing \u2062violent crime?\u201d\u200c with the options \u200c\u201cAllowing\u200d people to protect \u2064themselves with guns\u201d or \u201cEnacting \u2062<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-dems-pass-gun-control-bills-that-would-dramatically-increase-wait-times\/\" title=\"House Dems Pass Gun-Control Bills That Would Dramatically Increase Wait Times\">stricter gun laws<\/a>.\u201d \u2062Nine\u2064 percent said they \u201cdon\u2019t know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> \u200d\u2063 \u200d  <\/p>\n<p>According to\u2064 the rest of our \u200b1,000\u200c likely general election voter \u2064respondents, participants favored \u2064stricter gun laws by \u200da margin of only \u20635 \u200bpercentage \u2063points.\u2064 This is not a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/shapiro-the-circular-logic-of-systemic-racism\/\" title=\"SHAPIRO: The Circular Logic of Systemic Racism\">statistically significant difference<\/a>, especially \u200dwhen\u200c compared \u2064to\u200d NPR\u2019s\u200b much\u200b larger\u2062 22-point margin.<\/p>\n<div \u200cclass=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4c4915a4bb5eb28061e6b3f23fa3eab1\u200c fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4c4915a4bb5eb28061e6b3f23fa3eab1\"><\/div>\n<p>   \u200b\u2063 <\/p>\n<p>There were \u200balso problems with \u2064many of the other questions\u2062 in the NPR\/PBS survey.\u00a0For example, \u200drespondents were asked \u200bwhether they\u2064 support \u201cstand \u2062your ground\u201d \u2064laws. However, the survey itself described\u2063 these\u200c laws as allowing \u200dpeople to\u200b \u201ckill or injure the \u2063person\u2063 who they \u2064think\u2064 is\u200d threatening them.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>   \u200d\u2063 <\/p>\n<p>This question\u2062 neglected to consider the \u201creasonable person\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justia.com\/criminal\/defenses\/self-defense\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\u200b noopener\">standard<\/a>, \u200dthe assumption\u2063 that\u200c a \u201creasonable\u2063 person\u201d would\u2062 have to\u2063 believe himself \u200bto be at serious risk \u200dof death or injury, and \u2063would\u200d <em>only then<\/em>\u2063 be allowed to use proportional force. The \u200bNPR\/PBS survey is vague, making\u2064 it \u2062seem \u2063as if anyone can kill\u2064 another person\u2063 based on\u200b arbitrary discretion.<\/p>\n<p>\u2062   \u200b <\/p>\n<p>Their\u200b survey still found the majority supporting \u201cstand \u2063your ground\u201d laws, \u206258 percent \u200dto 40\u200d percent\u2062 \u2014 but that\u2019s actually\u200d an underestimate. I\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/crimeresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/CPRC-McLauglin-Stand-Your-Ground-1400x791.png\"\u2064 target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rephrased<\/a> the \u2064question and explained the \u201creasonable person\u201d \u200bstandard as\u2064 well \u200bas \u2063clarified that \u2062the \u200bforce used must be \u201cproportional\u201d to the\u2064 harm faced.\u2064 <\/p>\n<p>\u200b   \u200b <\/p>\n<p>The results\u200b of our \u2063survey found that the \u201cstand\u2064 your ground\u201d laws received overwhelming support, 66\u200d percent \u2064approval to\u200d 23\u200b percent disapproval. That\u200c is \u200dmore \u2062than double the margin found by NPR\/PBS.\u200c What\u2019s \u2062more, all\u2063 demographic groups supported \u200bthe \u2062laws \u200d\u2014\u2063 even Democrats (52 \u2064to\u2063 35 percent) and women (61 to \u206324 \u2063percent).\u00a0<\/p>\n<div \u2063class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a64166785fdf363a376eaea1872849ab fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\"\u2062 id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-a64166785fdf363a376eaea1872849ab\"><\/div>\n<p> \u2064  \u2064 <\/p>\n<p>Finally,\u200b we reworked the NPR\/PBS \u200bquestion on mass shootings. \u200dTheir survey\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/maristpoll.marist.edu\/polls\/gun-violence-in-the-united-states\/\" target=\"_blank\"\u2062 rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">asked<\/a>, \u201cWhen you \u2064hear about a mass shooting in the U.S., is your first reaction: \u2018More\u2063 people \u2064need \u200bto carry guns\u2019 [or] \u2018The country\u2064 needs stricter gun laws.\u2019\u201d Based on this question,\u200d they found that respondents supported stricter laws, 62 percent\u200c to 35 percent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  \u2064  \u200d<\/p>\n<p>We slightly\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/crimeresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/CPRC-McLauglin-Mass-Shooting-Response-1400x783.png\"\u200b target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer \u200cnoopener\">changed<\/a> the options in the question, asking\u200d instead, \u200c\u201cWhen you \u200chear about\u200d a mass shooting \u2063in\u200b the \u200bU.S., \u200bdo you think we need: \u2018To \u2062allow people to \u2063protect themselves with guns\u2019 [or] \u2018To \u200benact\u200d stricter gun \u2062laws.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>  \u200b\u2062  <\/p>\n<p>While we still\u200b found that more\u2063 people supported stricter\u200d gun laws,\u200c it was by a much\u2064 narrower 51\u200b to 41 percent \u2014 \u2064a little over\u2064 one-third of the margin reported by NPR\/PBS.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Organizations such as NPR\u2063 and\u200b PBS\u200b spend our \u2063tax dollars on surveys that paint \u200dgun control in \u200cthe best possible light. But clearly, small changes\u2062 in\u2062 the questions dramatically change the\u2062 polling\u200d results.\u2063 That isn\u2019t just true \u200cin this case \u2014 it also\u200d goes for\u2062 surveys on specific gun control \u2062proposals \u2062such as\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/crimepreventionresearchcenter.nationbuilder.com\/r?u=VXhonUob8h_X67qZqTDLXV02LYddUCGh9lnudJnvjAqp1vXrweP7Dr--He_dJ5qlsCdxD2V3nLwOVVyrRyr4B7pvOtzQX6DngGspF3ie3VSi3gO7e1zO93XKAtn_U1leUzSX7u6KSI2UrIfTLMk-NsWmbe7B_m7D7TLOzm2qtyVqTfUDlM-1GA8tt3upIFJC&#038;e=f1ace17b8cc3c6a3ae0c78a813a23928393b27b5&#038;utm_source=crimepreventionresearchcenter&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_campaign=july_15_2023&#038;n=3&#038;test_email=1\" target=\"_blank\" \u2063rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-value-guns-more-than-people-you-dont-know-debunking-colin-josts-ignorant-comments-on-gun-control\/\" title=\"Republicans \u2018Value Guns More Than People You Don\u2019t Know\u2019: Debunking Colin Jost\u2019s Ignorant Comments On Gun Control\">red-flag laws<\/a><\/a> and\u00a0so-called <a href=\"https:\/\/crimepreventionresearchcenter.nationbuilder.com\/r?u=VXhonUob8h_X67qZqTDLXfNbGJmQgYSJldb6h-QemFFx1vZHsfaSC5zCXOQZhWSohLm0yU2Uzu-VLFqCyzSkbOgi2T4OoXpB0muslOTwLf-jzOw2yduw2flHk40Va8lpYEgcRXDWO8ttJVSlPIYNC6_xc7aRqdgNMOaI35kM8F4kc1hIZlr3u4yn1HfZ8FUzooTmeUg8xK_-xdL8DVrfkW3hNIn6wOtAy-cjYUJmmXIxMNd2w6H2OVCyuyxwSApgBrmU9j5t7vNo4Mo37WiYBw&#038;e=f1ace17b8cc3c6a3ae0c78a813a23928393b27b5&#038;utm_source=crimepreventionresearchcenter&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_campaign=july_15_2023&#038;n=4&#038;test_email=1\"\u200c target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">universal\u2064 background \u200bchecks<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> \u200d   <\/p>\n<p>In \u2062reality, so much of\u200b the \u200csupposed support \u2064for\u2062 gun control is simply a mirage.<\/p>\n<p>\u200b <\/p>\n<div \u200bclass=\"fdrlst__b89e9-271a123f71e966892b7f36f9f69ae8a3 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-271a123f71e966892b7f36f9f69ae8a3\"><\/div>\n<p>\u200c \t\t\t\t\t \u200b<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"> \u2064 \u200d  \t\t\t\t\t  \u2064 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gun control advocates often cite polls indicating strong backing for gun control. A recent NPR\/PBS Newshour survey headline read: &#8220;Gun violence prevention matters more than gun rights, say majority of Americans.&#8221; However, is this truly the only option Americans have regarding gun control? The survey inquired, &#8220;Do you believe gun violence can be reduced without infringing on gun rights?&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":685,"featured_media":1978143,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1978142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1978142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/685"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1978142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1978142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1978143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1978142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1978142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1978142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}