Do you believe in polls?

[WTH_Progs?]

Or are they fixed for a predetermined outcome the results of which are used as propaganda to swing the weakest heads among us?

This poll is fun, it asks if you approve of Biden, and there are two options. 1. Yes I'm and idiot, and 2. I'm waiting to see what he does next.

Take the Poll: Do You Approve of President Biden's First 100 Days?

Thanks to President Biden's leadership America is #BackOnTrack with vaccines in arms, stimulus checks in hand, and over a million jobs created. Now we want to hear from you: do you approve of President Biden's first 100 days? Take the Poll >>

democrats.org

 

[Scottish_Brexiteer_UK]

TBH no.

Even if it's polls that tell me what I want to hear I'm always wary.

Polls, depending on who's conducting them can be easily manipulated to give a desired outcome. Some really basic things like area the poll was conducted, the sample size and the wording of the question/s.

If someone or a group is conducting a poll in the first place then the chances are they are passionate about politics themselves. People who are passionate about politics tend to be on one extreme or the other of a polarising issue so they've got that vested interest there and want to present the output they have created as fact to back their cause.

another thing I also consider is that myself and a lot of my mates are quite political and none of us have ever been asked any questions in one of these polls so It's dubious as to how they can represent your average person.

Polls are best ignored. Like stats they can be used to prove or disprove anything you want - on either side.

 

[task0778]

These days everything has been politicized. You can't trust any poll or survey, you can't trust any report or research because the people behind it are politicized. Even scientists can't be trusted to be impartial and unbiased, no doubt some are but some aren't and how the hell can you tell the difference? You can't trust the gov't or the media, and not even the military is immune when other considerations take precedence over what it takes to win a war.

So, no I don't believe in polls no mater what the results are. All I can do is try to understand how the results were arrived at and whether that jives with what I think is practical and real. I do my best to separate fact from fiction and recognize hyperbole and exaggeration when I see it.

 

[deannalw]

Hell no.

 

[d0gbreath]

When everyone had a land line, no caller ID, or answering machine, the results were a little better.
89% of smart phone users, use a call blocker. No I didn't take a poll on that. I just guessed, which holds about the same weight as polls do today.