A new study has found that regular viewers of Fox News held more misperceptions about the invasion of Iraq than regular viewers of any other networks. NPR/PBS viewers were found to have the best understanding of the facts.

A new study based on a series of seven nationwide polls this year reveals that a majority of Americans have had significant misperceptions and these are highly related to support for the war with Iraq.

The polling, conducted by the Program on International Policy (PIPA) at the University of Maryland and Knowledge Networks, also reveals that the frequency of these misperceptions varies significantly according to individuals’ primary source of news.

The study focuses mainly on three misperceptions regarding the invasion of Iraq:

- that evidence of links between Iraq and al Qaeda have been found
- that weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq
- that world public opinion favored the US going to war with Iraq

• Clay Ramsay, research director at the Program on International Policy (PIPA) at the University of Maryland. The polling for the study was conducted by PIPA and Knowledge Networks.