US Press Falsely Claims Honduran Plurality for Coup

[Judi Lynn]

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 , The Wall Street Journal , The Christian Science Monitor , and Reuters , 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 , The Associated Press - 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.

In reporting the poll incorrectly, the Post, the Journal, the Monitor and Reuters gave the impression that more Hondurans supported the coup than opposed it, suggesting that this meant trouble for the international coalition pressing for the restoration of President Zelaya - which includes Costa Rican President Arias and Organization of American States Secretary-General Insulza, as well as the Obama administration.

Of course, even if a poll had showed a plurality in favor of the coup, that would not legitimize the coup. But the opinion of the population, even if difficult to discern in the repression following the coup, is without question a key fact in understanding the situation. To misreport such a key fact is to substantially misinform. To fail to correct such a mistake compounds the error.

The incorrect report of the poll appears to have originated in the Honduran La Prensa. But the US press should have checked before simply repeating what was in La Prensa, particularly on such an important fact, particularly because the result was counterintuitive.

But perhaps the result was not counterintuitive for these press outlets, and that may suggest a deeper problem - the US press is out of touch with the majority of the population in Honduras, and therefore credulous to results which misreport Honduran public opinion as being much more similar than it is to the opinions of Honduran elites.

More:
http://www.truthout.org/071309X?print

[Peace Patriot]

1. ALL of the corpo/fascist 'news' monopolies trumpeted the rightwing LIE that

the referendum that Zelaya proposed was about lifting his term limit, when the ADVISORY referendum that he proposed for A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE had NOTHING WHATEVER TO DO WITH TERM LIMITS.

Here is the entire referendum text:

"Do you agree that, during the general elections of November 2009 there should be a fourth ballot to decide whether to hold a Constituent National Assembly that will approve a new political constitution?"
(Compliments of: http://www.borev.net/2009/06/national_news_outlets_bring_th.html )

They had repeated this rightwing lie--that the referendum was about Zelaya's term limit--over and over and over again.

And considering that all Constitutional civil rights were suspended by these rightwing coupsters in Honduras, and the media was shut down, and they've arrested and are holding at least 600 political prisoners, and they open fired on peaceful Zelaya supporters at the airport, killing one youngster and wounding many, and were also shooting out the tires of buses of people heading for Zelaya rallies, and other violent repression, and considering that they shot up the presidential palace, and dragged the elected president from his bed at gunpoint and flew him out of the country as a prisoner, HOW CAN ANYONE EXPECT truthful answers in a public opinion poll in these circumstances? It's like holding an opinion poll in Colombia, where, inevitably, the fascist narco-traffickers running Colombia get good numbers. You just don't give strangers approaching you with political questions a straight answer if you fear getting your head blown off for giving the WRONG answer.

I suppose it's remarkable that ANY of our corpo/fascist 'news' monopolies--the NYT and AP--reported the poll results accurately. They are among the worst liars and war profiteer propagandists on Latin American issues. But that may be because of the crossed signals from the Obama administration, since they take their orders on the propaganda line of the day from the CIA, the Pentagon and sometimes the State Dept., and these entities are not fully coordinated as yet, and may be operating as separate shops, or have Bushwhack cells that are operating within them. What's a corpo/fascist 'news' editor to do, when the President talks of peace, harmony and respect in Latin American foreign relations, and a Pentagon client state like Honduras has a rightwing military coup? 'Who's in charge?' 'What's the government line that we should parrot?'

And reporting the poll results accurately is not the same as accurately gaging opinion in Honduras--and they damn well know this. The media is shut down in Honduras. Even AP reporters were arrested and harassed. Hondurans do not have access to information. They are being relentlessly propagandized and repressed. How can a poll be accurate in these circumstances? It cannot be. It is absolutely absurd: 'Do you support the coup?' Yeah, right--people are going to answer that question! Not!

How can they even understand a question concerning which they have little nor no information, because all opposition media and all outside media have been repressed?

That's kind of the point of repression, ain't it? Shut down the country and all civil rights and all opposition and outside media, and THEN hold a poll! Or--the latest rightwing "talking point"--NOW hold the election that was slated for November, now that the fascist forces have control of all information! People are being killed, arrested, probably tortured, their homes are being invaded; public buildings and opposition TV stations are surrounded with troops and tanks; many Zelaya activists are in hiding. Some poll! Some election! This is bullshit. And NONE of our corpo/fascist media are making this clear, and most of them are LYING that the people of Honduras have a free choice!