How do Americans perceive the Arab world? How much do they know about it? How interested are they in news coming out of the region?
Such questions are gaining more and more attention, especially in light of the changes in the US administration. In this context, Arab News approached YouGov to run an online research study to better understand current US perceptions about the Arab world and examine differences by age groups, gender or political affiliation.
YouGov ran a study on its US proprietary online panel with a sample of American citizens living in the US. The sample was representative in terms of gender, age, ethnicity and education. The overall margin of error is considered low at 2.2 percent, compared to the 3 percent industry average.
The Arab News/YouGov American perception survey ran from March 17 to 21 across all US states. The total sample achieved was 2,057. In addition, the survey captured parameters like party affiliation (Democrat, Republican, independent and others), whether or not they are registered voters and their political viewpoints among other factors.
Overall, respondents answered 24 close-ended questions around news-related behaviors, trust in different news platforms, interest in news related to the Arab world, their knowledge about the region and interest in visiting this part of the world. In addition, they were asked questions about the rise of Islamophobia, their views on Arabs who have migrated to the US, their knowledge of the alliance against terror and countries that have been the victim of Daesh attacks and the perceived role of media in portraying the real image of the Arab world.
There was a near-even gender split among respondents, with 48 percent male and 52 percent female. The majority, 89 percent, are registered voters, and 61 percent of the sample fell between the ages of 30 and 64.
