Illegal immigrants have some rights under the Constitution – that’s a fact based on current jurisprudence. How far those rights go, is an opinion based on a person’s interpretation of the Constitution.
I think I’m among the older posters on this board (opinion). I got 10/10 and it SCARES me that so many people got any wrong. I thought it was one of the easiest quizzes I’ve ever taken!
^^ It’s not like I’m anywhere near familiar with the current jurisprudence.
The quiz wasn’t about whether the “fact” was true or not. You didn’t have to have ANY actual knowledge to get them right.
It was whether the statement was PRESENTED as fact or opinion.
Thinking that Obama was not born in the Unites States is not an opinion, it is a belief in the accuracy of a factual statement. I was born in Phoenix. For you to say that in your opinion I was born in France (sadly, no) would sound silly. gouf78 is right, it isn’t about whether the factual statement is true or not.
“Republicans and Democrats are more likely to think news statements are factual when they appeal to their side – even if they are opinions”
This is where “fake news” comes in–a particular viewpoint or maybe a story lacking credibility takes on the weight as being “fact” because of the bias of the reader. It doesn’t help that much is presently being presented as “fact” when it is not. PRESENTING something as fact doesn’t make it true.
I grew up with the admonition of "don’t believe everything you read’. That’s what needs to be taught.
@yourmomma – under the quiz rules of presenting something as fact or opinion this could have been " “illegal immigrants have NO rights under the Constitution” and you would’ve had to answer the same to get it right.
How sad that so many can’t tell the difference. This was a very, very basic quiz.
On a VERY simplistic level this is how opinion polls can be biased in how the questions are asked…
Q: Is war bad?
Ans: Yes. (100 per cent)
Q: Is war good? Yes, sometimes dictators need to be overthrown. ( let’s say 75 percent for yes)
There are some things worth a fight.
(hmm…didn’t match up much.)
Let’s have another opinion poll…
Was gouf born in the US? (borrowed from above)
Ans: No! France! Has to be France! (98 per cent of everyone we asked said yes, parents say no… lol.)
Headline: 98 per cent say gouf was born in France!
Is this headline fact or opinion?
This is a FACT about OPINION!
It didn’t make anything true. It didn’t research to find out any real facts. It’s just a report on what people think–which (sorry) means squat in actual reporting.
Personally, I’m not all that worried about whether or not people can tell fact from opinion. I’m infinitely more worried about whether or not people can tell the difference between truth and fiction. I’m not worried about whether or not someone can tell me the statement “Hillary Clinton assassinated JFK” is fact or opinion. I’m worried about whether or not someone can tell that it’s blatantly false.
So then it become a trick question, right. It’s true that they have rights and false that they have no rights, under today’s jurisprudence. But prior to the first Supreme Court case dealing with the issue, it could have been an opinion either way.
Of course it false. It was Ted Cruz’s dad. 
Another old (70 this year) baby boomer with a 10/10. I agree that it was an extremely simple quiz. Sad that so many people couldn’t tell the difference between fact and opinion statements.
Is it possible to teach people how to judge something truth or fiction?
Romani, you do research. Can you prove your sources true or false, or is it a judgement call? I’ve been reading the most simple overview of Popper I can find on-line. He’s the philosopher QM mentioned upthread. Probably you are familiar with his writings.
NO–it’s NOT a trick question. FORGET the actual question.
The sky is red.
(presented as fact).
I think the sky is red. (opinion).
gouf, please see Demosthenes, post #36
" I’m infinitely more worried about whether or not people can tell the difference between truth and fiction. "
Me too.
- Don’t believe everything you read.
- Check sources.
- Do your own research if able.
- Keep an open mind.
10/10
@alh-
from post 36–" @bluebayou: Strictly speaking, “I believe Obama was not born in the US” is also a fact statement, it’s just a fact statement about someone’s beliefs rather than about Obama’s birth place. Contrast, “We should investigate Obama’s birth place,” which is a statement about preferences and therefore an opinion."
Looking for your point.
“I believe”…does not follow with a fact statement even if it turns out to be a fact. (opinion)
“We should investigate”…is not opinion. It’s a statement of what should occur to establish fact.
So?..
10/10 – Goofy poll. It was a trick to get people to confuse “factual statement”, which is a type of statement, with whether they believe the statement was a “fact”. Two very different things. Similarly with the opinion statements. I imagine that if the pollers very explicitly detailed the difference between the two then the overall results would be closer to 10/10.