apiphile:
shortformblog:
This is undoubtedly an amusing...
This is undoubtedly an amusing headline, but it actually touches on a serious issue in democracies: How can policymakers sell and implement necessarily policy when the general public is almost comedically misinformed about what policy is needed? The poll cited showed that Britons believe that 24% of jobless benefits are fraudulently claimed (the actual number is .7%); that violent crime is rising (it’s falling); that immigrants comprise 1/3 of the population (more like 13%); and that teen pregnancy is roughly 26 times higher than it actually is. “Politicians need to be better at talking about the real state of affairs of the country, rather than spinning the numbers," said one of the pollsters involved. In addition, “the media has to try and genuinely illuminate issues, rather than use statistics to sensationalise." So, in other words, the incentives structure of politics and the media needs to do a complete 180 from where they are now. Awesome, that should be a quick fix. source
GOOD GRIEF IT’S ALMOST LIKE THE CONSTANT BARRAGE OF BIASED REPORTING DESIGNED TO SELL SWINGEING CUTS TO SOCIAL SERVICES AND SUPPORT SYSTEMS WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY SPUNKING MONEY INTO MP PAY RAISES AND CLEMENCY FOR LARGE CORPORATIONS AVOIDING TAX HAS HAD SOME SORT OF NEGATIVE AFFECT ON THE POPULATION’S UNDERSTANDING OF THE SITUATION IN THIS COUNTRY.
AND GOOD GRIEF, WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME UNPLEASANT SIDE-EFFECTS:
INCREASED VIOLENCE AND ABUSE TOWARDS PEOPLE WITH VISIBLE DISABILITIES
INCREASED SUICIDES
