Majority or collective public opinion?

PUBLIC opinion, simply defined as people’s desires, wants and thinking, was once considered if majority of the people have the same perspective or point of view.

In other words, it could also be defined as the collective opinion of the people, a society or state on an issue or problem.

But change is constant, isn’t it? What if half of the Philippines population has an opinion totally against the other half of its population? Is that not a public opinion? Or if Team Duterte is higher by three to 10 percent in a public opinion poll compared to Team Opposed, does that mean Team Duterte is the majority population and their public opinion matter more than Team Opposed’s?

Is Team Opposed, which let’s say is just 40 to 47 percent of the whole Philippine population, says otherwise, can’t this be considered a collective public opinion?

What if agencies or institutions doing all these numbers have the wrong information? Are public opinion surveys trustworthy enough? They can for sure stir public opinion. Incorrect information is now at least labeled as fake news. But what sense is there left to rely on opinions of people that are no longer the absolute majority or cannot be ignored as not collective?

I still see a majority of public opinion, but sadly it is not as trustworthy as it had always been in the past; that when you say, he is a dictator, he is a hell of a dictator! As it is around the world, the internet in the Philippines has become a morass of fake news and conspiracy theories, harassment and bullying. This has muddied public discourse and cultivated a populist attitude toward democracy. What is true or legal is no longer important as long as the collective support it.

What public opinion did in the past is to influence public perception and shore up support for one side or another that is either incipient or already ongoing. This can and has often resulted in individuals or groups taking action against the accused outside of the justice system. People power is a concrete example of this.

The whole point and reason of a public opinion is to move an agenda forward, it is a means to an end. If you like thinking of yourself as a seeker of truth and if you think the P10- billion pork barrel scam raises issues which are important to you, then make your most well-thought opinion matter in platforms that can influence others. Do not spread fake news that create further confusion and hate. ( Paid article)