US Media Misquote Honduran Poll

Does anyone care? Isn't this just a continuation of the US historic role of supporting brutal military dictators over democratically elected leaders we happen to disagree with?

Excuse me while I conflate US Media with the US power elite.

Truthout.org:

US Press Falsely Claims Honduran Plurality for Coup

Tuesday 14 July 2009

by: Robert Naiman, t r u t h o u t | Perspective

A supporter of Honduras's ousted president Manuel Zelaya

walks past a line of police officers at a road blockade.

(Photo: Edgard Garrido / Reuters)

Did a CID-Gallup poll last week indicate that a plurality of Hondurans support the military coup against democratically elected President Zelaya? Yes, according to The Washington Post [July 9], The Wall Street Journal [July 10], The Christian Science Monitor [July 11], and Reuters [July 9], which all reported that the poll showed 41 percent in favor of the coup, with only 28 percent opposed.

But in fact the poll showed that 46 percent - a plurality - were opposed to the coup, according to The New York Times [July 10], The Associated Press [July 11] - and the president of CID-Gallup, in an interview with Voice of America on July 9.

As of this writing - Sunday evening, 5:30 pm Eastern time - none of the outlets which reported the poll incorrectly had corrected their earlier, inaccurate, reports.

Here's a comment to a previous Truthout article that sums it up pretty well:

Not only were these polls

Tue, 07/14/2009 - 10:35 — Anonymous (not verified)

Not only were these polls done by the current Honduran press (did we quote Pravda as gospel a few decades ago?), but methodology of any such poll is PRETTY QUESTIONABLE. How many people were asked, from which regions of the country? Were the elites who staged the coup disproportionately represented? This leaves us only one thing left to trust: DEMOCRACY. Polls are usually done with manipulative purposes in our own country as well. How many Americans define themselves as Republicans? Now, ask how many think they're conservative (we still have more "conservatives" than "liberals" - in fact that happened even while McCain was trounced in the polls and election by President Obama). Now ask people’s opinions of individual issues. Surprise! Most people are liberals and don't know it because they've been so manipulated by the conservatively corporate owned press. If you’re liberal on 95% of all issues you're not a moderate, and you're definitely NOT conservative. However, in a climate that defines conservative as "loving your family" and "loving your country" and liberal as the opposite, how can people not be conservative, unless they actually pay attention to American politics, which most Americans can't be bothered to do. In Honduras, who says actual polls were even done? What proof is there? Would our press have asked the opinions of anyone but the elites? In fact, were the polls pretty much conducted by and for the elites? If so, we’re left with one conclusion: that even the elites are divided about the coup. If polling numbers are against Zalaya why wasn’t democracy allowed to take it's course. Obviously, they’d have had nothing to worry about. No, democracy is exactly what the coup regime is trying to prevent, along with "whoever" is pulling their strings (C.I.A. maybe?)