Americans believe things

Cory Doctorow 8:40 am Thu Nov 13, 2014

And those things aren't true, according to an Ipsos-Mori poll that put the USA second-from-the-top in the race to see who's the most ignorant, preceded only by Italians.

What untrue things do Americans believe? Basically, that their country is overrun by teenaged mothers (perceived: 24%, actual: 3.1%), murderers (perceived by 70% as rising, in reality down by more than 50% since 1992), unemployed people (perceived: 32%, actual: 6%), and Muslims (perceived: 15%, actual: 1%).

Of course, Brits are also incredibly ignorant. As Kottke notes, the fact that the press in both countries is obsessed with welfare, teenaged pregnancies, murders and Muslims, this is probably not that surprising.

Perceptions are not reality: Things the world gets wrong

(via Kottke)

(Image: American Bald Eagle, Pete Markham, CC-BY-SA)

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