I'm getting very weary of polls. It's becoming more and more clear that people use polls to say things that the numbers don't -- because most people don't seem to have the inclination to question the conclusions being drawn or insinuated about numbers.
Here's the thing that gets me the most. Polls are basically being used now by propagandists and the press (arguably more related than one might think) to sort of suggesst what the truth is.
If 55% of the people think "A", it doesn't make "A" true. Even if 100% of the people think "A", it doesn't make "A" true. What it does show is who is winning the propaganda war.
If last week 46% of the people think "A" and this week 51% think that, does it mean that last week it wasn't true and this week it is? Or is it "getting more true"? What if the numbers go down next week, or next month? Is "A" then "getting less true"?
The problem is, people don't go investigating things for themselves, and the people who are supposed to be doing unbiased investigating for them are more interested in a juicy story or have their own political agenda they feel obligated to forward in their stories. Investigative reporting is now exposè reporting. The emphasis is on finding scandal or something shocking especially when the truth is boring.
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