Take A Closer Look

Many of us can say that we’re not exactly pleased with Donald Trump’s executive order to temporarily suspend immigration from seven different countries for the next 90 days. To say this ban has erupted in chaos and confusion, would be a blatant understatement. Since its implementation, many individuals — whom I would identify as having an equal right to visit, and live in this country, as any other immigrant should— have been detained in airports and denied entry. Even those with dual citizenship. I have seen my peers, refugees, college students, professors and those with loved ones overseas negatively impacted by this impulsive decision.

So, amidst the commotion, why am I writing about a picture shared by Fox News? Well, I realized that we need to take a closer look. I follow many news outlets and try my very best to obtain the most factual, objective and unbiased information as I possibly can. This led me to the realization that one source I don’t keep up with is Fox News, and let me tell you, when I saw the posts shared on their Facebook page, I was pretty close to shocked.

I had realized that even in my earnest pursuit to follow news outlets with facts and evidence, I still was living in a bubble. My Facebook feed and my news sources, are undoubtedly the constructs of my own personal information bubble. I had realized that all of us who have been marching since November 8th, have been marching in a bubble. We’re marching in places throughout the country where the majority of its inhabitants share the same political views. We are receiving completely opposite information from one another. Ultimately, we are not effectuating change in the people we so desperately want to effectuate change in.

But, why am I writing about some random picture? Once again, I realized I needed to take a closer look. After stumbling upon this photo on Fox News’ Facebook page — or what I thought was a nightmare that only George Orwell could create, I took a closer look at the data being throttled at me from what seemed like an outdated, Microsoft PowerPoint background design, and I became skeptical. Aside from the purported fact written across that generic background, I wanted further information so I could better understand what this poll was really conveying.

“Do you support the refugee ban? 48% support the refugee ban, while 42% oppose it.”

Anyway, as a naturally inquisitive person, this was not enough information for me. I needed some answers. Ya know, like, how was the study even conducted? What methods were used? What was the sampling size?

So, I took a closer look, and what I found was intriguing.

According to researchers from the University of Quinnipiac, these numbers do not just represent the opinions of 899 registered voters nationwide, BUT these voters only came from 9 states, including Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Iowa and Colorado.

Hmmm…Interesting…

Now, I will add that this sample size may look minuscule at first, but the study was conducted to analyze registered voters’ opinions, whereas this Fox News post leaves this little, but crucial detail out. The question being asked is “Do you support the refugee ban?” Well, that depends. Are you a registered voter? Because according to the Statistic Brain Research Institute,

“The total number of Americans eligible to vote is 218,959,000 and the total number of Americans registered to vote is 146,311,000.”

Hmmm…Interesting…

So, just know, that although this study represents those who are registered to vote, it doesn’t represent you if you’re one of the 72,648,000 eligible, but not registered voters. But why would Fox News not share this? Why does the question ask if you support the ban?

This pictorial soundbite — or shall I say sightbite — is potentially misleading for a variety of reasons. Besides the aforementioned voter discrepancy, another significant detail is that these voters were surveyed between January 5th and January 9th.

I’m sorry, come again?

Yes, this data was collected BEFORE Donald Trump issued his executive order. And although we can thank Fox News for including this time frame at the bottom of the picture, we have to address its publication date and main question at the top. Fox News shared this sightbite on January 29th, and the question, once again, remains “Do you support the refugee ban?” If the dissemination of information is your game, why wait to share it? If the study conducted was in regards to a hypothetical ban, then why insinuate that a majority of Americans support the refugee ban? Oh yeah, shock value.

In addition, we have to ask ourselves what methods were used to carry out this poll? The researchers at Quinnipiac University say it was done through live interviewers who called landlines and cell phones to collect answers for the public opinion survey. However, I could not find information as to whether those interviewed were chosen a random, or selected by some other process. This is an important factor to analyze, but since I was unable to find this information, I will just reiterate its importance when reviewing data to make conclusions about sample selection.

Now, although we may not know how the sample was selected, I did learn that the question from the picture was not the only one asked during the survey, nor was it JUST a yes or no question. According to the Polling Report, there were a total of three questions asked, and each had more than two choices for answer options.

Have you ever played Where’s Waldo? Can you find the discrepancies between the picture versus the ACTUAL study?

Even the Fox News webpage distorts what the study represents,

“A new Quinnipiac Poll released last week shows more American voters support President Trump’s executive order to temporarily suspend immigration from several Middle Eastern and North African countries.”

But is this true? Does the Quinnipiac Poll actually represent Trump’s executive order, because I don’t see Trump’s name anywhere in this chart?

I mean, come on…Is it just me or are we now understanding how this could potentially be problematic?

The point of all of this, was not to put Fox News under a microscope, but to analyze each detail to challenge you, as someone who took the time to read this article, to dissect each and every sightbite.

Be skeptical. Be inquisitve. Ask a million questions, and then ask a million more, because that’s what fact checking is all about.

Don’t take my word for it, you have the ability to cite my sources and fact check my analysis. In the information age, you truly could not do a larger disservice to yourself.

Even the smallest details could be the difference between assuming your immigrant neighbor living next door is a stereotype or understanding that they are just another human being.

Some may feel that this analysis was nothing short of nit picky, but when a sightbite like this has over 9,000 favorites, 75,000 likes and Press Secretary Sean Spicer references it in Monday’s Press Conference, you start to care…a lot.

I do not want to live in an age where facts don’t matter. I want to live in a world where we hold each other accountable when other’s inalienable rights are being trampled. I want us to exercise empathy and treat each other with compassion. I want to have discussions with those who have different opinions than mine to have the opportunity to understand how their perceptions shape their political views.

And the list goes on, but ultimately, I want to illustrate why I wanted to analyze some random picture. This picture represents the information divide in America right now, the two bubbles that are just waiting to pop so we can see past all forms of sensationalism, and deconstruct sightbites when taken out of context.

By and large, this picture illustrates that when you take a closer look, you can cut through the superficial, half-truth jargon and discover the truth as a whole; just like an iceberg. We’ll always be given the 10% of information that evokes an emotional response, but it’s up to us to take a closer look and uncover the other 90%.

Be skeptical. Be inquisitive. Form fact-based opinions. Ask a million questions, and then ask a million more, because we owe it to each other, ourselves and the future generations to come.