AP Distorts a Flawed Poll to Portray Cubans as "Satisfied" With Their "Freedoms"

This story from the AP, reporting on a poll of Cubans, is one of the most misleading portrayals of public opinion that I have ever seen.  Because it's permeated with distortions all the way through, I've taken the unusual -- but in this case, necessary -- step of pasting the entire story below.  My comments are in bright green.

Poll: 1 in 4 Cubans OK with freedoms

What about the other 3 in 4 Cubans?!  Why does the headline trumpet what a minority of poll respondents said?

By FOSTER KLUG, Associated Press Writer Thu Dec 14, 5:03 PM ET

WASHINGTON - About one-quarter of Cubans interviewed in the island's two biggest cities are satisfied with their freedom to choose what they do with their lives, according to a poll released Thursday.

Why is the lead of the story what a minority of poll respondents said?  In addition, might the failure to poll anyone outside the two largest cities distort the poll results?  Are residents of two largest cities more likely to be members of the government and privileged classes, and/or more likely to be friends and associates of those who are?

When asked about the job performance of Cuba's leaders, about 40 percent of those surveyed said they disapproved, the Gallup Poll found. Not quite half gave their approval. The poll surveyed 600 people in Havana and 400 in Santiago.

The survey comes as Cuba is at a crossroads. Leader Fidel Castro is ill and questions abound about whether he will recover and what will happen if he does not.

Right.  So at this important crossroads, why is the AP playing up the misleading angle that Cubans are "OK with their freedoms" in the headline and in this entire story?

Castro's autocratic rule has fueled widespread criticism, though he has supporters, including Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Gallup conducted the Cuba survey only in two cities because of the difficulty in getting around the island and because of the absence of a reliable way to buy food and provisions, said Carlos Denton, president of CID Gallup Central America.

Would residents of parts of the island where it's difficult to get around and where there is no reliable way to buy food and provisions have a different view than those big city residents Gallup did poll?  Also, why no telephone polling?  Could it be because: (a) most Cubans don't even have telephones (per CIA factbook, telephone line density remains low, at less than 10 per 100 inhabitants); and (b) if they do have phones, they could not answer poll questions honestly for fear the possibility of being monitored or recorded?

The results are not meant to be representative of Cuba's more than 11 million citizens — only a look at those nearly 3 million people living in Havana and Santiago, Gallup officials said.

No kidding it's not representative.  So why is it a story at all?

According to the survey:

_When asked about the "ideal partner" for Cuba to increase commercial ties with, the United States was most commonly mentioned, followed by China and Venezuela. The U.S. government maintains a decades-old trade and travel embargo against Cuba.

The Cubans like us!  They really like us!

_Nearly all of those interviewed said they thought Cuban health care was accessible to any person who needed it, regardless of their economic status.

Hoo boy.  Babalu Blog will give you a glimpse into Cuban health care.

_Nearly all said Cubans who wanted to study have access to education, regardless of their economic situation.

_Only about 40 percent said Cubans can get ahead by working hard.

That's interesting.  And why might that be?

_About two-thirds of the respondents who had jobs said they were satisfied with them.

I'm sorry, did you say two-thirds of the respondents who had jobs?  That would leave out how many respondents who do not have jobs?

Ten people from other Latin American countries conducted the interviews along with 10 Cubans, mostly college students Gallup had previously dealt with. The workers tried to stay away from the homes of people responsible for reporting on neighborhood activities to the government. Such homes, Gallup said, are on nearly every block.

Gee, that makes it sound as if Cuba is a little repressive, doesn't it?

The interviews were not monitored by the Cuban government, the polling group said, and no incentives to answer questions were given to respondents. Gallup said it did not request governmental permission to conduct the survey.

But what if people fear that their individual answers to the poll might become known?  Hmmmm -- might that affect their candor?

The poll workers entered their results daily in computers at the Internet cafes that have sprung up to cater to tourists. They burned their data each night to avoid having the results recovered by the government.

Let's see -- untraceable poll results, burned nightly to avoid government detection.  I can really see why one in four Cubans is "OK with freedoms."

Jesus Rios, Gallup's director of research for Latin America, said that the questions were the same ones his company uses in similar polls all over the world and were not customized for Cuba.

The poll was conducted Sept. 1-15 with residents above the age of 15. The margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points for the total sample.

Does that margin of error take into account the fear of being put in jail for three to ten years, or worse, if you give the wrong answer?

And that is the end of the AP story. 

Funny, but nowhere in the story is there any discussion of the 3 in 4 Cubans who did not say that they are "satisfied with their freedom to choose what they do with their lives." 

I'd sure like to talk to those poll respondents and hear what they have to say, wouldn't you?

Comments

[AubreyJ]

Sounds like a few polls... the left of left pushes down our throats... Daily!
AubreyJ.........

[cuba]

agree it more and more sounds like propaganda - manufacturring of consent - prebabricated assessments... why we all just drop the argument and think of people who lives there and about the moral that we do not have / should not have to have such a tramendous influence on other people' lives.