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lagomorph777

(30,613 posts)
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 09:32 AM Mar 2019

USA Today caught cheating on poll

USA Today breathlessly claims "Poll: Half of Americans say Trump is victim of a 'witch hunt' as trust in Mueller erodes!!!"

https://www.vox.com/2019/3/18/18271441/trump-tweet-usa-today-suffolk-poll-mueller-witch-hunt

...But the poll question on which that headline rests is seriously flawed. The question reads as follows: “President Trump has called the Special Counsel’s investigation a ‘witch hunt’ and said he’s been subjected to more investigations than previous presidents because of politics. Do you agree?”

It’s true that 50.3 percent of the poll’s 1,000 respondents said “yes” to that question. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they believe the Mueller investigation is a “witch hunt.” The prompt packs two different questions into one — a poor strategy for a poll question. Respondents simply may have meant to agree that Trump has been “subjected to more investigations than previous presidents because of politics” — a controversial but defensible position — without intending to go further and indicate they think Trump is the victim of a “witch hunt.”
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USA Today caught cheating on poll (Original Post) lagomorph777 Mar 2019 OP
It's obviously a push poll Farmer-Rick Mar 2019 #1
my first thought as well. nt Javaman Mar 2019 #13
As transparent as the would be dictator himself. The world would be far more stable and peaceful KPN Mar 2019 #20
Polls are gimmicks by the right watoos Mar 2019 #2
it's a terrible question NewJeffCT Mar 2019 #3
I knew it as soon as I read the results.Trump is a pathological liar and everybody knows this onit2day Mar 2019 #37
Polling 101 is make the question as specific as possible. rogue emissary Mar 2019 #4
Or they are agreeing that Trump calls it a witch hunt. zaj Mar 2019 #5
Exactly....they agree that he has said its a witch hunt and that he has said... mentalslavery Mar 2019 #8
Correct. It's not just a two question in one push. KPN Mar 2019 #21
And that he has been the subject of more investigations - Rhiannon12866 Mar 2019 #46
DU has the greatest and smartest posters Botany Mar 2019 #6
I agree. I saw the poll results on CNN yesterday with nary a word about its credibility. KPN Mar 2019 #23
Was hoping other media sources would shine a light on that skewed USA poll. onit2day Mar 2019 #38
Kick dalton99a Mar 2019 #7
Actually THREE questions. I would agree to "Trump has called ..... witch hunt" MadLinguist Mar 2019 #9
Exactly- this! James48 Mar 2019 #44
+1000! Kind of Blue Mar 2019 #48
WE are the victims, not Scarsdale Mar 2019 #10
Who the hell reads USAToday? docgee Mar 2019 #11
Don't have to. It was all over the news yesterday afternoon -- but no mention of the question's KPN Mar 2019 #25
It's great - for lining the bottom of weasel cages. CentralMass Mar 2019 #51
You got them weasels too? docgee Mar 2019 #57
I knew someone who had one. They are smart critters CentralMass Mar 2019 #59
They put it outside your hotel door for free in fancy hotels. forgotmylogin Mar 2019 #66
MSM will always be working for the orange hitler & his fascist party yaesu Mar 2019 #12
Yup workinclasszero Mar 2019 #18
Right?! KPN Mar 2019 #26
thought this was common knowledge,,,,,,, Cryptoad Mar 2019 #14
Good catch. calimary Mar 2019 #15
Well color me shocked! Blue Owl Mar 2019 #16
trump cultists say that all polls are wrong because Hillary. mwb970 Mar 2019 #17
AND some may think they are just agreeing that he said it underpants Mar 2019 #19
Lies, damned lies, and statistics. nt El Mimbreno Mar 2019 #22
Disgraceful! Enabling such an evil man. Power 2 the People Mar 2019 #24
The sad thing about this is there are many who will never hear this part of the story, and many of KPN Mar 2019 #27
Gosh, what a poorly written question...I used to write instructor's guides, and test questions ... SWBTATTReg Mar 2019 #28
USA Today paid somebody extra to craft this question in a deliberately confusing way. lagomorph777 Mar 2019 #34
Yup Skraxx Mar 2019 #36
K&R, uponit7771 Mar 2019 #43
Had a feeling about this. louis-t Mar 2019 #29
Push Polling, this is a great example Dorn Mar 2019 #30
What Madlinguist said. PoindexterOglethorpe Mar 2019 #31
Test Construction 101 doctorzuma Mar 2019 #32
So, USA Today only sampled 1000 people to represent the whole country??? MagickMuffin Mar 2019 #33
Or they are agreeing that he has called the investigation a witch hunt. Push poll question. Skraxx Mar 2019 #35
That's part of the fun of being in the data analytics field.... cbdo2007 Mar 2019 #39
That's if the WWWHW are covered up, if so then trust is deminished. I'll never trust a USA Today pol uponit7771 Mar 2019 #42
The question is even more flawed than this suggests. Ms. Toad Mar 2019 #40
They asked a compound to get the noise they wanted and only posted one part of the question. uponit7771 Mar 2019 #41
Here's the problem with the question Papyro Mar 2019 #45
I was highly suspicious there was a flaw, or fraud, someplace in this survey. TryLogic Mar 2019 #47
Another thing I noticed that outed their bias... Silver Gaia Mar 2019 #49
I noticed the "improvement" language too. lagomorph777 Mar 2019 #62
Exactly Silver Gaia Mar 2019 #65
There are many polls. Pick the one you like and swear by it. Swear at the others. keithbvadu2 Mar 2019 #50
"...because of politics." Ligyron Mar 2019 #52
who writes these poll questions? PupCamo Mar 2019 #53
the media already appears to be circling the wagons around trump... spanone Mar 2019 #54
A terrible question is not cheating janterry Mar 2019 #55
Sure, it's purely accidental. lagomorph777 Mar 2019 #63
I've seen lots of bad survey designs janterry Mar 2019 #67
Gad, I didn't even look at that question yesterday Awsi Dooger Mar 2019 #56
Title would be correct saying Half say tRump is a "TARGET" of more investigations ffr Mar 2019 #58
Kind of like the age-old trick question, "did you stop beating your wife?" George II Mar 2019 #60
When I saw that here, I had a feeling it was skewed. C Moon Mar 2019 #61
It is a form of gish gallop. People don't always remember all the facts applegrove Mar 2019 #64
Morning Joe staff and guests called it a bogus poll yesterday. Ilsa Mar 2019 #68
Something I learned in research methods in college and on ethics in doing research... ck4829 Mar 2019 #69

Farmer-Rick

(10,072 posts)
1. It's obviously a push poll
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 09:42 AM
Mar 2019

You can get any response you want if you word your question in an obtuse and misleading way.

KPN

(15,587 posts)
20. As transparent as the would be dictator himself. The world would be far more stable and peaceful
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 11:07 AM
Mar 2019

without 45 and Rupert M.

 

onit2day

(1,201 posts)
37. I knew it as soon as I read the results.Trump is a pathological liar and everybody knows this
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 01:34 PM
Mar 2019

So many have already been convicted, (indicted on the Russian side) to believe this is a 'witch hunt'. Seems to me that most people would know this.

rogue emissary

(3,147 posts)
4. Polling 101 is make the question as specific as possible.
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 09:44 AM
Mar 2019

That question is vague and clearly open to interpretation.

 

mentalslavery

(463 posts)
8. Exactly....they agree that he has said its a witch hunt and that he has said...
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 09:58 AM
Mar 2019

that he has been subjected to more investigations that any other president.....yep...I heard him lie that way....I agree...

Rhiannon12866

(202,970 posts)
46. And that he has been the subject of more investigations -
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 02:36 PM
Mar 2019

But with good reason! They said the exact same thing on Morning Joe today.

Botany

(70,291 posts)
6. DU has the greatest and smartest posters
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 09:56 AM
Mar 2019
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=2287574

But the damage is now done and certain members of the media and of the right wing
will still quote the USA today poll that Americans see Trump as a victim as gospel.

KPN

(15,587 posts)
23. I agree. I saw the poll results on CNN yesterday with nary a word about its credibility.
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 11:11 AM
Mar 2019

Last edited Tue Mar 19, 2019, 10:58 PM - Edit history (1)

I was dumbfounded, shocked, dismayed and discouraged ... immediately, and that feeling stayed with me through the remainder of the yesterday.

MadLinguist

(781 posts)
9. Actually THREE questions. I would agree to "Trump has called ..... witch hunt"
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 10:05 AM
Mar 2019

Respondents could agree to any of the following:

1. President Trump has called the Special Counsel’s investigation a ‘witch hunt’

2. said he’s been subjected to more investigations than previous presidents

3. said blah blah because of politics.

James48

(4,416 posts)
44. Exactly- this!
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 02:17 PM
Mar 2019

I agree that he has said that!


I don't agree that that is what it is, but i DO agree that Trump has made those statements.

Scarsdale

(9,426 posts)
10. WE are the victims, not
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 10:07 AM
Mar 2019

tRump. No person with a brain could dismiss the loud signals in this administration of corruption.

KPN

(15,587 posts)
25. Don't have to. It was all over the news yesterday afternoon -- but no mention of the question's
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 11:15 AM
Mar 2019

credibility. Saw it on CNN and also, if I remember right, on MSNBC. I didn't watch any evening news because I was so dismayed with the "news" and how it affected my spirit earlier in the day so don't know about the big three (NBC, CBS, ABC).

yaesu

(8,020 posts)
12. MSM will always be working for the orange hitler & his fascist party
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 10:16 AM
Mar 2019

because they give them "yuge" tax breaks & a constant circus atmosphere entertainment value.

underpants

(182,273 posts)
19. AND some may think they are just agreeing that he said it
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 10:54 AM
Mar 2019

Sorry didn’t read the link if they mentioned that

KPN

(15,587 posts)
27. The sad thing about this is there are many who will never hear this part of the story, and many of
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 11:22 AM
Mar 2019

those go with the pack -- so they now will tend to believe it IS a "witch hunt" and Mueller's report will be tainted by that belief.

This in itself should be considered obstruction of justice when it comes to the highest level of corruption and treason we have ever seen at the highest level in our national government. That is, USA Today (it's owner Rupert Murdoch and family) should be held accountable for malicious negligence and conspiracy against the people and the Constitution of the USA. That's my feeling. I l know it won't happen, but that's what I feel right now.

What can we do about it?

We should all contact by email, letter or phone all of our news sources and urge them to right this faulty reporting they did yesterday.

SWBTATTReg

(21,859 posts)
28. Gosh, what a poorly written question...I used to write instructor's guides, and test questions ...
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 11:28 AM
Mar 2019

for courses that were taught (by me and others) at a major company and one thing that you learned was how to construct your questions properly so you won't get confusing answers etc. like this poll question. Seems like USA Today didn't want to pay anyone a little extra money to have a question properly written...this demonstrates a poor lack of thought and control and USA Today trying to hype up sales of their newspapers.

Very irresponsible and just provides another reason to not read their papers (I can't stand them anyways, since their papers are so generic and 'fake' to me, I'd rather read a local paper and get more of a 'local' flavor to the news.)

lagomorph777

(30,613 posts)
34. USA Today paid somebody extra to craft this question in a deliberately confusing way.
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 12:12 PM
Mar 2019

It's not an accident.

Dorn

(520 posts)
30. Push Polling, this is a great example
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 11:43 AM
Mar 2019

For example: Do you agree that Lima beans taste like poop, would you like some Lima bean casserole ?

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,746 posts)
31. What Madlinguist said.
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 11:50 AM
Mar 2019

Three questions.

And yes, Trump has said over and over that he's been subjected to more investigations than previous presidents. I certainly agree that he said that.

If one of the choices was "neither agree nor disagree" I'd have gone with that. Or maybe refused to have answered the question at all.

Although usually polling doesn't allow a skipped question.

Other examples of bad questions, are the ones that purport to determine just what part of the country you grew up in (or what part of the UK or other English speaking place) by asking you how you'd pronounce a particular word, or which is the word you use for something (see-saw vs teeter-totter or pop vs soda for instance). Well, because I've lived in different parts of the country sometimes both pronunciations or both word choices coexist equally in my brain. Invariably I have to give up part way through. I keep on hoping they can't tell I was raised by wolves.

Or other kinds of surveys will give choices for doing things (skiing vs ice skating) or between pop singers (any two people I've never heard of) and again, I can't complete the survey.

doctorzuma

(44 posts)
32. Test Construction 101
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 11:57 AM
Mar 2019

Each question should be designed to measure only one variable. So, the conservative websites, who love to push ignorance, are running with this one.

cbdo2007

(9,213 posts)
39. That's part of the fun of being in the data analytics field....
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 01:41 PM
Mar 2019

you can really get the data to tell any story you want.

Now of course, those of us who believe in doing the right thing, will try to best represent what the data actually shows and interpret what it actually means, but all of us in this field work with other data analysts and executives who want to bend the interpretation to tell the story the way they want it to sound. It's a tough spot to be in the middle of sometimes.

uponit7771

(90,225 posts)
42. That's if the WWWHW are covered up, if so then trust is deminished. I'll never trust a USA Today pol
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 02:14 PM
Mar 2019

... before looking into it now.

Ms. Toad

(33,915 posts)
40. The question is even more flawed than this suggests.
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 01:45 PM
Mar 2019

The question is phrased, "President has called . . . and said . . . do you agree?"

Yes, I agree "he has called the Special Counsel’s investigation a ‘witch hunt’ and said he’s been subjected to more investigations than previous presidents because of politics.

Answering that I agree to that factual assertion about what Trump has said indicates absolutely nothing about whether I believe that either of the statements he has repeatedly made are true.

uponit7771

(90,225 posts)
41. They asked a compound to get the noise they wanted and only posted one part of the question.
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 02:12 PM
Mar 2019

... ok USA Today, you on the map for that ish

 

Papyro

(7 posts)
45. Here's the problem with the question
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 02:30 PM
Mar 2019

Vox is correct.
Respondents might believe that they are being asked only whether Trump has been subjected to more investigation then past presidents.

USA today I was us all an apology and retraction.

Silver Gaia

(4,514 posts)
49. Another thing I noticed that outed their bias...
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 05:45 PM
Mar 2019

My daughter was all upset about this article yesterday, which she called "disheartening." This is part of my reply to her:

Good grief! Their very wording admits their bias. They say "a 52 percent majority say they have little or no trust in the president's denials that his 2016 campaign colluded with Moscow" and call that an "improvenent" over a 57 percent majority last year. Improved for whom?! If they think a lower number is an "improvement," then their bias is pretty fucking obvious. Don't trust this. That's a propaganda tactic designed to make you feel discouraged, and I think the poll is skewed. It's an outlier. They WANT to demoralize and divide us.

I also said I wanted to see the actual question asked, how many people were polled, and the ratio of Democrats, Republicans and Independents polled. I could tell it was bogus right off the bat. Sheesh. Come on, news media! If I could see this, why didn't you? Do your damn job!

keithbvadu2

(36,362 posts)
50. There are many polls. Pick the one you like and swear by it. Swear at the others.
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 05:58 PM
Mar 2019

There are many polls.
Pick the one you like and swear by it.

Swear at the others.

Ligyron

(7,592 posts)
52. "...because of politics."
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 06:02 PM
Mar 2019

No, because it looks like he's a criminal and this needs to be investigated. Who knows if he's been subjected to more investigations? That would probably be a good guess though.

spanone

(135,633 posts)
54. the media already appears to be circling the wagons around trump...
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 06:13 PM
Mar 2019

They have greatly enriched themselves on the trump insanity

why would they want it to stop?

 

janterry

(4,429 posts)
55. A terrible question is not cheating
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 06:18 PM
Mar 2019

It makes the results unreliable/not valid.

But it's not cheating.

lagomorph777

(30,613 posts)
63. Sure, it's purely accidental.
Wed Mar 20, 2019, 12:01 AM
Mar 2019

They spend huge sums of money to push this poll out, and nobody glanced at the questions to notice the bias? Come on.

 

Awsi Dooger

(14,565 posts)
56. Gad, I didn't even look at that question yesterday
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 06:22 PM
Mar 2019

The result was being touted on sports sites everywhere, from chirping right wingers.

I had no idea it was such an awfully worded question that could only lead to two different perspectives being lumped together on one side.

I would expect that question to have perhaps 40-43% agreement, not 50%. The 40-43 is bad enough but at least it aligns with approval rating. This 50% was like an intentionally designed push, guaranteeing tons of related press.

ffr

(22,645 posts)
58. Title would be correct saying Half say tRump is a "TARGET" of more investigations
Tue Mar 19, 2019, 06:39 PM
Mar 2019

Like the question states.

Poor integrity by USA Today. Shame!

applegrove

(118,015 posts)
64. It is a form of gish gallop. People don't always remember all the facts
Wed Mar 20, 2019, 12:55 AM
Mar 2019

In the question if you pack the facts in there. Likely purposeful and they are manipulating an availability heuristic in many people's minds that the last or most recent thing is more salient. Heuristics are shortcuts in people's brains.

Ilsa

(61,675 posts)
68. Morning Joe staff and guests called it a bogus poll yesterday.
Wed Mar 20, 2019, 07:27 AM
Mar 2019

They stopped short of calling it a push poll, or accusing USA Today of being a tool for trump. But they said it was a garbage poll.

ck4829

(34,976 posts)
69. Something I learned in research methods in college and on ethics in doing research...
Wed Mar 20, 2019, 07:30 AM
Mar 2019

Combining the questions into one, making it sound like one question on one end but another something else, etc., it usually reflects an agenda on the part of the poll-taker or an accident.

Which one was this?

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