Ever since the first scientific opinion polls revealed that most Americans are at best poorly informed about politics, analysts have asked whether citizens are equipped to play the role democracy assigns them.
(A)
Such factors, however, can explain only the misinformation that has always been with us. The sharp rise in misinformation in recent years has a different source: our media. “They are making us dumb,” says one observer. When fact bends to fiction, the predictable result is political distrust and polarization.
(B)
It’s the difference between ignorance and irrationality. Whatever else one might conclude about self-government, it’s at risk when citizens don’t know what they’re talking about. Our misinformation owes partly to psychological factors, including our tendency to see the world in ways that suit our desires.
(C)
However, there is something worse than an inadequately informed public, and that’s a misinformed public. It’s one thing when citizens don’t know something, and realize it, which has always been a problem. It’s another thing when citizens don’t know something, but think they know it, which is the new problem.
* poll: 여론 조사