Fact Checking Politifact: Wrong About Jon Stewart’s Use of the Word “Misinformed”

[Electric Monk]

mis·in·form (mis-in-form) tr.v. mis·in·formed, mis·in·form·ing, mis·in·forms: To provide with incorrect information.

Politifact often does a good service checking the veracity (or lack thereof) of controversial claims made by public figures. But they seem to have encountered some difficulty fact-checking Jon Stewart’s claim that Fox Viewers are “the most consistently misinformed media viewers.”

Politifact maintains that Stewart is wrong about Fox viewers, based on the findings of five different polls. Three were conducted by the Pew Foundation: 2007 Political Knowledge Survey, 2008 Media Survey, and the 2010 Media Consumption Survey. Two were conducted by the University of Maryland’s Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA): 2003 Misperceptions, the Media and the Iraq War, and 2010 Misinformation and the 2010 Election.

The three Pew polls measure how informed viewers are. They don’t even belong in the discussion, because they don’t go to Stewart’s point. “Do you know who the Secretary of State is” or “what is the name of the Vice President” are questions that you can answer if you’re paying attention. There is no shortage of people who go glassy-eyed and stupid while staring at cable news, and I’m proud to be one of them. I can feel the lull of Kathleen Parker’s voice shaving points off my IQ. I might be able to tell you who the Secretary of Education is under ordinary circumstances, but freely admit that listening to Bill Bennett drone on about anything is enough to flip the switch on enough synapses that answering any question becomes a challenge. It’s a guilty pleasure for people who don’t smoke pot.

On the other hand, the two PIPA studies measure how misinformed viewers are. That’s a very different yardstick.

(snip)

The PIPA study identified those who held one or more of these misperceptions, based on their primary news source:



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http://firedoglake.com/2011/06/21/fact-checking-politifact/

[Taverner]

1. Fox viewers act on their "gut"

And there is no ganglion anywhere in their intestines, either smaller or larger, that can make decisions. so yes, you're absolutely right

[Electric Monk]

2. Written by Jane Hamsher, not me, though I agree she is absolutely right on this