Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Summary of Findings As efforts to stop a major underwater oil leak faltered and President Obama traveled to Louisiana to assess the early damage, the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico grabbed public attention and dominated media coverage last week. More than half of Americans (55%) say they followed news about the oil leak very […]
News that scientists had created the first-ever living cell controlled by synthetic DNA fascinated the blogosphere last week as the discussion focused on the ethics and implications of the achievement. On Twitter, a marketing campaign gone awry received the most attention. And on YouTube, a forceful political ad drew almost a million views.
Summary of Findings While the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico has accounted for an overwhelming proportion of recent news coverage, most Americans say the press is giving the right amount of attention to the still-unfolding disaster. The latest News Interest Index survey conducted June 17-20 among 1,009 adults by the Pew Research Center […]
Views of Iran remain negative across much of the world. Majorities or pluralities in 18 of 22 countries surveyed, including in many predominantly Muslim nations, express unfavorable opinions about the Islamic Republic. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad receives mixed reviews in Muslim countries. Majorities in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey lack confidence in Ahmadinejad to do […]
America’s image is on balance positive in most of the nations surveyed, and overall there has been little change since last year. Looking at the 20 countries surveyed for which 2009 trends are available, positive views of the United States have become more common in six nations, less common in six, and have remained about […]
Publics worldwide continue to have more confidence in U.S. President Barack Obama’s ability to handle world affairs than in the abilities of key European leaders. Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose leadership skills are well-regarded by publics throughout much of Western Europe, does not match Obama’s popularity. In contrast to Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy […]
In nearly all nations surveyed, people are unhappy with the direction of their country, disgruntled about the state of their nation’s economy and divided about the economic future. Most fault their government for the bad economic times and think it is doing a poor job coping with current troubles. There is, however, widespread support in […]
The following briefing by Brian J. Grim, a senior researcher at the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, was presented to the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight on the Pew Forum’s findings on restrictions on religion around the world. Good morning. I would like to begin by […]