Looks like all of you who emailed me with suspicions were onto something.
The CBC appears to have a new spin on the old joke about the answer to all multiple choice questions being “C”. This time the answer is usually “G”, as in Grit.
Queen’s University political science professor Kathy Brock says the state broadcaster’s Vote Compass online survey tool is flawed and tells people they’re Liberal by default.
Vote Compass, a 30-question survey on the CBC’s website, is supposed to show Canadians which party’s political views are most like their own.
Brock said she completed the survey three times using three distinct strategies, and was aligned each time with the Liberal party.
More – “took CBC Compass again … every answer “Don’t Know” and it comes up Liberal Party. Now that’s quite the statement!!”
I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the CBC pulled such tricks but the thing did correctly record me.
I ran it three times, answering honestly. I landed HARD into the CPC zone each time.
Too bad they aren’t actually a conservative party.
“Van der Linden said an expert research team, based out of the University of Toronto, devised the tool using a “rigorous scientific process.””
I have this sneaking suspicion that “rigorous scientific process” is poorly understood by social scientists. Confirmation bias is probably a more accurate description of their process.
Sun news can’t happen fast enough.
Cause: Queen’s University political science professor…
Effect: … and was aligned each time with the Liberal party.
Does anyone wonder why there was a question about ‘better access to abortion’?
Ther are no laws against abortion in Canada so why would Canadians be asked that question?
Mr. Harper…cut the funding to CBC please!!
If you need a survey tool to tell you if you’re a liberal, a conservative or a socialist, I’m afraid you need another survey tool to see if you’re a dunce, a moron or an idiot.
Who thinks up this sh!t?
Worse yet, who gives it any credence?
In this quiz it put me exactly where I thought I would be, slightly more consevative then the Conservative Party. Your placing will change on how much you agree or disagre with each statement (somewhat or strongly). I thought that this test was strange in the placements for some of the parties. For example, it has the liberals ‘strongly opposed’ to the carbon tax, even though last election that was their main theme. It also says that agreeing that Quebec should be independent is ‘socially conservative’ which doesn’t make much sense. Though it is very clear that there are two choices: the Conservatives or a coalition of big government, nanny state leftists.
I did it a few days ago and was well down into the CPC quadrant….no surpise presented itself.
“Does anyone wonder why there was a question about ‘better access to abortion’?
Ther are no laws against abortion in Canada so why would Canadians be asked that question?”
Going out on a limb here, but it MIGHT have something to do with this:
http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/05/07/lancet-medical-journal-slams-canada-harper-on-abortion/
I took it and came up hardcore Conservative; but the Queen’s chick’s point is that if you answer “I don’t know” and/or straight down the middle on the questions, the “Compass” *always* tells you that you’re LPC, not that you could go either LPC *or* CPC. So it’s telling the most *undecided*, i.e. swing, voters that they are, naturally, Libs, *all the time*, not half the time. Hence the distortion and underhandedness in trying to shape perspectives.
So in the end, if you answer honestly, you wind up about where you thought.
If you answer dishonestly, you wind up being a Liberal.
Not exactly news….
“Cliff van der Linden, a Toronto researcher who developed the tool, said Brock received those responses because the questions are equally split between the left and right side of the political spectrum. “So if you answer all one way or another, you’re going to end up answering half left and half right — and end up in the middle…We’re talking about the centre of the Canadian political landscape as it applies to these 30 statements,” van der Linden said. He said all four parties were asked to verify the statements.”
That explanation, along with the fact that almost everyone here who tried the quiz ended up where they thought they would, suggests that it’s on the up-and-up.
Of course, this completely undermines the intended point behind this post, but nevermind…
I ended up on the Conservative side of things.
The Tories are not social conservatives. If left-bots truly fear being restricted in every aspect of life, they might want to worry about sharia law and not Harper.
I came down dead centre in the Conservative square. I figured I’d be slightly more towards the centre. Oh well. But it definitely didn’t make me Liberal. Two people I know also reported a Conservative result.
Maybe Brock really is just liberal with false assumptions about conservatism.
I answered hard-core conservative on every question, and ended up in the exact same area of the map as the Conservative logo. However, they’re no where near as conservative as the answers I was giving. They should be much closer to the center, and the Liberals should be further from it than they are, and the NDP should be at the very top left corner. So it’s not very accurate in terms of how the parties are actually positioned, it’s more how someone with a liberal bias would see the parties (ie the CBC sees the Conservative party as being far right on both economic and social issues, and thinks the Liberal party are closest to the centre).
When in doubt, Commie out.
The survey placed me in the same quadrant I usually occupy so no surprise there.
The big surprise whas where they placed the other federal parties. They were positioned as being more centerist than the Conservatives – what a misleading bunch of hoey!
So, not being able to define where you stand on a position and state your convictions aligns you with the Liberals?
Splitting the middle on any issue in hopes of being everything to everyone, but actually becoming nothing to everyone is aligned with the Liberals?
I don’t believe it. Ignatieff is so charismatic, intelligent, well-spoken, and able to define exactly where the Liberals stand on every issue.
It just so happens to be the middle of nowhere – but he defines it like no other could.
I thought there were a few answers to choose from that were not that conservative, maybe from the Canadian point of view they were, but from the world view of not having any government presence in the broadcasting world, or not having any government role in healthcare, it wasn’t ok. They presume that their view is mainstream and it’s ok if you’d like more of it, but if you don’t agree, there isn’t a “more conservative” choice to choose. Which isn’t ok with me.
My answers couldn’t be more to the right, and more socially conservative, yet on their graph I’m just to the right of Robert W., and slightly lower in conservative stance, so I think their graph results ares skewed to the left/Liberals.
They presume, that no one could possibly be “to the right” of the Harper crowd. … so of course I feel disenfranchised, 😉
They don’t include, an option to raise military spending to a rate somewhat comparable with Australia, say about 2% instead of our current 1.3 of GDP… and the hope that if the SHTF, that the USA will bail us out. (again).
and as always, they don’t include a question regarding any government involvement in state owned / supported media. … “De-fund the CBC”
or the so called Human Rights Tribunals…
I was at four o’clock, about two inches from center, pretty close to RW from Van.
I’m still gonna vote Bloc if they run a candidate here in Kelowna, just for the novelty. 😉
Fire them all??
They need to go to JAIL!
The CBC has shown themselves as a corrupt political lobby group, misappropriating taxpayer money for political influence under the guise of a fair and balance news organization.
This should be investigated and criminal charges laid.
I just made myself watch Mansbridge and the cast of Lieberal Glee. It won’t happen again, these taxpayers money sucking liberal sychophants were just short of dragging out Karl Heinz Schrieber and Mulroney to slag Harper, detestable creeps all of them. Only Heather Mallice is worse.
They are using a you tube pop-up to peddle this crap. Any ideas folks?
Yep, it told me I was a Liberal, too. But when I did the answer by answer breakdown I lined up with the Conservatives almost everytime.
Kinda fun. I answered somewhat honestly and got positioned almost literally off the chart in the conservative zone. I’m pretty sure that according to their logic I inhabit the “Move to New Hampshire and join a militia, you freak!” quadrant.
Another sleight of hand is positioning the liebranos as being close to the centre, you know, reasonable….while they are hard left, anti individual, nanny state autocrats.
And the pc’s far to the right, extreme in other words.
The ceeb, spin meisters for the whackademic uberclass
Sell them off asap
I tried the don’t know thing and it came back with no result.
More interesting are the position per statements.
Strongly disagree with pulling troops from Afstan? You are Liberal
Strongly disagree with adopting a carbon tax? You are Liberal (ahem?).
Indifferent about child care? You are Liberal
Indifferent about EI? You are Liberal
Indifferent about wealth taxes? You are Liberal
They only have to just stop short of telling people how to vote.
Voted neutral/no opinion on every question. Plotted dead center, but told I was closest to the Liberal Party
Here’s a suggestion.
Take the test but when it asks for what province and riding enter Quebec and use a liberal riding as your location.
I’m thinking the CBC wants to publish these results before voting day.
Don’t forget to save the results.
Because we all know those online polls can’t be wrong.
I. Don’t. Know.
But I have strong suspicions.
Perhaps when Ignatieff (and you know I despise Ignatieff as much as Harper) does form the next government you may want to look at the blunders committed by Harper rather than the CBC. In one of Harper’s classic, stilted attempts to appear human (remember the fuzzy sweater, the hockey book, singing I’ll get by with a little help from my friends (reference to 2004 co-opposition agreement??), tonight he thought he’d belt out that classic anthem of neoliberal orthodoxy: John Lennon’s Imagine.
Oh wait, it’s actually a socialist anthem that condemns everything Harper stands for: It is anti-religion, anti-war, anti-capitalist, anti-totalitarian, anti-greed. Thankfully we can’t always count on Harper to massively blunder at a critical moment.
It still put me in the conservative category and I’m flaming libertarian by nature.
Pfft *Whatever*
My goodness! I replied “don’t know” for all the answers…. and apparently I’m a Liberal supporter! haha! Good grief, this thing is rigged!!
Forgot to mention.
Make sure you select answers that indicate conservative.
The sword cuts both ways.
Think, Dizzy, think. The statement you cite as being evidence that the quiz is “on the up-and-up” –
– is in effect stating that everyone who’s in the “centre” holds the same political views as the LPC. That’s beyond contentious, obviously, in light of the fact that every party (except the Bloc) has been working hard to represent themselves as representing the views of ‘average Canadians.’
Even more problematically, when everyone who “somewhat agrees” with every single question is told that his views are aligned with the Liberals, and everyone who “somewhat disagrees” with every question is told that his views align with the Liberals, and everyone who “strongly agrees” with every question is told that his political views are aligned with the Liberals, something’s clearly amiss. As Kathy Brock said, “If you’re giving opposite responses and getting the same result, that’s not correct.”
Btw, – and this is for other commenters as well who deem the quiz legit by simple virtue of the fact that they personally came out “Conservative” – the “quiz” couldn’t tell *everyone* who takes it that he/she is a Liberal, without being laughed out of town. The fact that people who choose the most most Conservative position in each question ends up being labeled Conservative doesn’t obviate the obvious problems:
1) Everyone who is “in the middle” is deemed to hold political views that align with the LPC. This is ridiculous to everyone but Liberals and their supporters.
2) To state that people who give completely opposite (e.g. all “agree” or all “disagree”) responses to each question all hold views that align with those of the Liberal Party is laughable, and borderline Kafka-esque.
If you’re an average Canadian voter, you’re a Liberal; if you and your neighbour give the *opposite* answer to every single question on the quiz, you’re both Liberals…because you’re average Canadian voters.
Funny how that works.
Alex @9:48 – that article based on a report from The (notoriously left-wing) Lancet was about the Canadian government financing abortions in foreign countries. Question 19 on our fun little quiz here asks whether: “The government should make it easier for a woman to get an abortion”. I doubt most people reading that would assume “a woman” meant “a woman in Bangladesh”.
Bill Stewart @11:30 – I generally like Lennon solo better than I like the Beatles, and I can honestly say that Imagine, that anthem of nullity, is the single creepiest song I know. “I hope some day you’ll join us…” has an awfully “Come play with us, Danny, forever, and ever, and ever…” quality.
Well, maybe it’s just me.
Well it’s got me down as a conservative, so those of you who are getting pegged as liberals must be REALLY confused about what you believe.
If you put “neither agree nor disagree” for all of them, you will come up as Liberal.
It’s rigged.
This is not just some flawed interactive fun on the CBC website. The is another example of the CBC holding Canadians in contempt. The CBC pushes liberal causes 24/7, but now they are underhandedly pushing the Liberal party directly.
This is incredibly wrong. The Liberals get biased coverage, at the taxpayer expense, and none of it is included in Liberals election expense limits. Canadian are screwed thrice.
Alex, lies make baby Jesus cry.
Whoa. There’s another me on the site? Two Yukon Golds would create a space/time continuum implosion.
I think the CBC has lost its last bit of credibility. Why are they even running something like this in the middle of an election?? It’s like they think it is a game or something. I am disgusted.
“So if you answer all one way or another, you’re going to end up answering half left and half right — and end up in the middle.”
Which is Liberal,… if you disregard all the recent elections in Canada, maybe.
How is this not against the law, this is my taxes?
Rogue Male (9:56) gets it:
“I took it and came up hardcore Conservative; but (Kathy Brock’s) point is that if you answer “I don’t know” and/or straight down the middle on the questions, the “Compass” *always* tells you that you’re LPC, not that you could go either LPC *or* CPC. So it’s telling the most *undecided*, i.e. swing, voters that they are, naturally, Libs, *all the time*, not half the time.”
If you’re undecided on every question, you’re Liberal. If you somewhat agree with every question, you’re Liberal. If you somewhat disagree with every question, you’re Liberal.
Regarding the “Undecideds” — many of whom, it’s reasonable to assume, haven’t been following political issues/performance (perhaps they’re working two jobs, or raising four kids, and haven’t had the time) — they will obviously be more likely to answer “I don’t know,” and therefore to be told that their views align with the Liberal Party of Canada.
Not sure how to vote, or what the issues are? Why, that means you’re a Liberal!
To quote the CBC’s Paul Hunter, “Does that surprise you?”
They missed one question:
Is the CBC relevant in today’s Canada.? If so, why?
Does the “other” Yukon Gold have a goatee, Yukon Gold?
One sure way that you can tell a social “scientest” is full of shit, is when they say they have used a “rigorous scientific process”.
Jerking off, while it may be rigorous, is not a scientific process.
…”robust” is another favorite tell of the social/political scientist’s bluff.
Here’s the biased survey on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNU3sL8T8RI
The CBC’s left-wing bias was exposed, and their web designers were quick to try and fix the problem! (March 29, 2011)
Canada’s state broadcaster (which by the way is paid for with over $1 Billion of taxpayers’ money and gets fewer viewers than CTV or Global) decided to put up a “Voter Compass” on their website to convince people to vote Liberal. The questions are slanted to produce the expected results. I took the survey and clicked “neither agree nor disagree” for all my answers. The verdict: I’m a Liberal. I then clicked “strongly disagree” for all answers (including disagreeing with strict environmental regulation and daycare funding; pretty right-wing choices), and the answer was: you guessed it. Liberal. In fact, when the user clicks the same answer for every single question, the result will always unequivocally be Liberal. Overpaid Liberal-loving CBC employees clearly designed this survey. Try it yourself!
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/votecompass/
http://www.torontosun.com/news/decision2011/2011/03/29/17798821.html
The CBC is strongly biased towards the Liberal Party of Canada, and now more than ever needs to be privatized. Our military veterans need all the help they can get. I propose we sell the left-wing biased CBC and give the $1 Billion yearly to our Canadian Forces veterans.
The CBC remains very unwatched since its employees receive a cheque even when they produce low quality, little-watched drivel. The CBC is not accountable. Why try? They get paid nomatter what.
Do you know what CBC’s most-watched shows are? Hockey, and Jeopardy. Global National and CTV News with Lloyd Robertson always — every night — attract more viewers than “The National” with Peter Mansbridge. CBC news has struggled for years get as many viewers, but always fails. And this is with a $1 Billion gravy train courtesy of Canadian taxpayers! (CTV and Global don’t get this advantage!)
Aside from hockey, the CBC rarely has any of its shows in the top-30 most watched list in Canada. Follow this link to look at the CBC’s dismal viewer ratings and statistics:
http://www.bbm.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=87&It…
Defund the slanted, politically correct, biased CBC. Now.