Collegiate Times

Aside from being a disappointment to the scientific community, the proliferation of misinformation has political consequences. In 2005, during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Harris Interactive conducted a poll about American attitudes toward the war. Forty-seven percent of respondents believed that Saddam Hussein played a role in orchestrating the Sept. 11 attacks. No connection has ever been made between the two.

In addition, 44 percent thought that several of the hijackers were from Iraq. In truth, none were — almost all were from Saudi Arabia. No doubt that this fabrication gave unwarranted support for the war at the time.

Errors surrounding the Sept. 11 attacks get even more cynical. In 2007, six years from that infamous day, Zogby International ran a poll to investigate the falsely labeled “9/11 Truth Movement.” They found that a whopping 30 percent of U.S. citizens believed that the federal government either planned or allowed the terrorist attacks for political and economic reasons. That means almost 100 million of us believe our own government is guilty of mass-murdering its own people. How all these people manage to cope in our society while holding that contemptuous belief is beyond comprehension.

Political conspiracy theories can hit closer to home as well. Back in August, Public Policy Polling asked Virginians about the political climate with respect to the upcoming gubernatorial race. A hot news item at the time was the President Barack Obama’s birth certificate conspiracy theory. It was assumed that only the small lunatic fringe of the right wing thought this was a legitimate issue.

However, just a measly 32 percent of Virginia Republicans were willing to answer in the affirmative that the president of the United States is also a citizen of the United States. It is likely that this fib helped sway the race in the Republican candidate’s favor.
With such large portions of the American public being gullible on a wide range of issues, one cannot help but wonder how policy is affected on the national level. If a third of the electorate is uneducated, uninformed or otherwise susceptible to lies, then politicians can easily disregard public opinion with a clear conscious. If a democracy is to work properly, then the leadership needs to respect the wishes and desires of the people. Right now our leadership is deciding policy on climate change, health care and Afghanistan. Challenge your own beliefs and stop the spread of misinformation, and politicians will respect us more.

Continue Reading:  « Previous12