Regarding the current war in Iraq a recent study by PIPA found that 60% of the US population believed one of the following:

* that weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq,
* that Saddam Hussein worked closely with the September 11 hijackers,
* and that most people in the world supported the war in Iraq.

All are false.

So how do so many Americans come to believe these falsehoods? A fair guess is that the media have something to do with it. So an interesting exercise would be to look at where these misinformed Americans sourced their misconceptions. PIPA though so too, here are the results.

In summary, 80% of people who watch FOX had at least one incorrect peception of the war in Iraq. It is hard to imagine how you could describe Fox's presentation of the war as fair and balanced when so many of their viewers have a wrong perception of the war.

PIPA is a Joint Program of the Center on Policy Attitudes (COPA) and the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM), School of Public Affairs, University of Maryland.

Read their press release here.