Are Americans really okay with torture? The effects of message framing on public opinion

Abstract

In December 2014, the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report on CIA detention and interrogation practices from 2002–2009. Several survey organizations then released polls that appeared to show a majority of Americans supportive of the CIA program, prompting such news headlines as ‘Polls Show a Majority of Americans Support Torture’ and ‘Let’s Not Kid Ourselves: Most Americans are Fine with Torture’. The authors of this article were skeptical of these conclusions. They therefore conducted a survey experiment in which they explored whether slight variations in how this issue is framed – e.g. referencing the 9/11 terrorist attacks, linking the policy to the George W Bush administration, identifying the specific tactics used on detainees or emphasizing the broader consequences for American interests abroad – impact public support for torture. They found that respondents can be primed to express slim support or substantial opposition to the policy based on which of these considerations are called to mind.

Persuasive and Unpersuasive Critiques of Torture

“…This aligns with Blauwkamp, Rowling and Pettit (2018). It is worth noting that this question on efficacy from the first survey follows the treatment, so it may be influenced by the prompts in the first question.…”

“…The completion rate was 91%. 12 This aligns with Blauwkamp, Rowling and Pettit (2018) Q4A': Which of the following pieces of information is most likely to change your mind, so that you would be AGAINST interrogating the terror suspect using sleep deprivation?…”

“…For example, after the release of the 2014 Senate report on CIA interrogation, national polls conducted by media networks and polling organizations showed significant support for the torture of terror suspects (CBS 2014; Goldman and Craighill 2014; Gronke, Rejali and Miller 2014; Ingraham 2014; Lyte 2014; Morelli 2014; Pew 2014, 2015). Blauwkamp, Rowling, and Pettit (2018) argued that these survey results were sensitive to framing. References to the threat of terrorism, especially in the context of 9/11, elevated respondent support for torture whereas explicit references to torture methods in polling questions suppressed support for torture 4 .…”

For better or worse: Shaming, faming, and human rights abuse

“…HR shaming is threatening for such countries because it can turn public opinion against the government. Finally, publication of detailed information on the use of torture can have a priming effect, causing previously indifferent audiences to object to the use of torture (Blauwkamp, Rowling & Pettit, 2018) and possibly mobilizing them to protest against its use. When rulers perceive a threat to their position in power, the risk of oppression increases (Carey, 2006; Conrad & Moore, 2010; Danneman & Ritter, 2014; Pierskalla, 2010; Sullivan, 2016).…”

Representing torture in Zero Dark Thirty (2012): Popular culture as a site of norm contestation

“…The absence of (self-)reflection is an important and often overlooked motif in ZDT. Although opinion polls on torture should be handled with care (Blauwkamp et al, 2018; Gronke and Rejali, 2010), the persistence of discourses to excuse or even justify torture is surprising given its national and global prohibition.…”