Feedback Loops II

A recent survey exemplifies the lack of good feedback loops in the US.

Many American still hold misperceptions about Iraq war, poll finds

WASHINGTON - A new poll shows that 57 percent of Americans continue to believe that Saddam Hussein gave "substantial support" to al-Qaida terrorists before the war with Iraq, despite a lack of evidence of that relationship.


In addition, 45 percent of Americans have the impression that "clear evidence" was found that Iraq worked closely with Osama bin Laden's network, and a majority believe that before the war Iraq either had weapons of mass destruction (38 percent) or a major program for developing them (22 percent).

There's no known evidence to date that these statements are true.

U.S. weapons inspector David Kay testified before Congress in January that no weapons were found and prewar intelligence on Iraq was "almost all wrong." CIA Director George Tenet last month rejected assertions by Vice President Dick Cheney that Iraq had cooperated with al-Qaida.

Despite that record, many Americans continue to believe that the threat from Iraqi weapons and its alleged links to terrorism justified the war. That conviction correlates closely with support for the war and President Bush, the poll released Thursday found.

For example, among those who say most experts agree that Iraq had banned weapons, 72 percent plan to vote for Bush.

[...]

[source: Knight Ridder]

A similar poll last year correlated the misperceptions with people's main news source. For those believing there is clear evidence that Saddam Hussein was working closely with Al-Qaida, their main news source was:

67% Fox
56% CBS
49% NBC
48% CNN
45% ABC
40% Print
16% PBS/NPR