Americans are scared of the government. Political corruption is at the top of US citizens’ most common fears, according to a recent survey conducted by researchers at California’s Chapman University. They’re also worried about cyberterrorism and very concerned about their privacy being invaded by corporations or the government. Perhaps less […] Read more »
Half in U.S. Continue to Say Gov’t Is an Immediate Threat
Almost half of Americans, 49%, say the federal government poses “an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens,” similar to what was found in previous surveys conducted over the last five years. When this question was first asked in 2003, less than a third of Americans held […] Read more »
ISIS Successful in Raising US Public Fears about Terrorism
Coinciding with the rise of the Islamic State and continued threat from related groups in the Middle East, public concern about Islamic fundamentalism has increased 15 percentage points since 2014 (to 55% viewing it as a critical threat now), the highest level since 2002 survey results (the first Chicago Council […] Read more »
Americans’ Foreign Policy Priorities
The American public favors diplomatic and economic strategies over most military involvement and questions whether or not the United States should be the world’s chief problem solver, even as a myriad of troubles across the globe are identified as important for the next president to address. The latest Associated Press-NORC […] Read more »
2015 State of the First Amendment Survey
The State of the First Amendment survey, conducted each year since 1997 by the Newseum Institute’s First Amendment Center, tests Americans’ knowledge of their core freedoms and samples their opinions on First Amendment issues of the day. The 2015 survey questions covered topics including the use of Confederate flags on […] Read more »
Americans Still Say Liberties Should Trump Anti-Terrorism
The federal government’s recent actions to limit the scope of what it can do to prevent terrorism are consistent with Americans’ preference to prioritize civil liberties over anti-terrorism efforts when the two come into conflict. Sixty-five percent of Americans say the government should take steps to prevent terrorism but not […] Read more »