Polling and opinion surveys contribute to harm year round, not just at election time. In large part because running surveys is a lucrative business that crowds out actually understanding people's lived experience.
The reporting on surveys as bad as bad science journalism.
The reporting on surveys as bad as bad science journalism.
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You'll start to see this a lot when you look for it. Stories based on garbage surveys.
This stuff travels too fast and far.
Often the story will cite the "study" and track it back to the organization that ran it and figure out what their bias is.
But it takes a little effort to this.
And often the sample is sketchy and the questions are phrased in a leading way or are unlikely to be anything the respondent thought about in those terms until asked that question.
But reporting on surveys influences opinions of readers, which can influence behavior.
Anything out of an industry group or a study funded by a specific company, nah.
I mean, unless it supports my priors.