Wednesday, November 10, 2004
On Media and the Election
by Robert W. McChesney
(9 Nov 2004,CommonDreams.org)
Perhaps
the most important function our media serves is to provide voters
with the information they need to make sound decisions in the
voting booth. If people don't know what they're voting for, our
democracy is in serious trouble.
Unfortunately,
it appears that we're in serious trouble.
This
election has been marked by a staggering amount of voter ignorance.
Polls show that voters -- especially Bush supporters -- were grossly
misinformed about their candidate's position on a broad range
of issues. Surveying supporters of the President, a University of Maryland PIPA/ Knowledge Networks poll found:
- 72% still believe that there were WMD's
in
- 75% believe that
- 66% believe that Bush supports participation in the International Criminal Court.
- 72% believe that he supports the treaty banning land mines.
The catch? None of these statements are true.
More on media reform: