According to the survey, 7 percent of Americans think chocolate milk comes from brown cows while 48 percent were unaware of how it is made. Genuine “fake news” – stories drawn from thin air – may have had its 15 minutes even before the president co-opted the term to mean anything he personally disliked, but these subtler versions continue to haunt anyone invested in our collective ability to parse fact from fiction. According to a new survey, nearly half the US population (47 percent) are unsure about where chocolate milk comes from. That’s right, folks. It’s been all over the news lately: a survey by the Innovation Center for U.S. Perhaps even more shocking is 7 percent of adults think chocolate milk comes from … brown cows. It too, however, failed to ask any questions about the origins of the data it was citing, and added that 48 percent of survey respondents – a number cited by Food & Wine, too, but whose origin I haven’t been able to ascertain – claim not to know where chocolate milk comes from. Here are some brown cows that, shockingly, produce regular milk. Surprise! This survey is as murky as chocolate milk. did the math and deduced that 16.4 million Americans must believe that chocolate milk comes from brown cows. This is usually the part of the media critique where we’d look to assign blame, lament the decline of journalism training and the impossible speed of the online era, note that there are, has been working on this issue for years, and has identified a number of. Have other hard news publications reported the information in the same way? U.S. Dairy’s Innovation Center surveyed more than 1,000 adults over the age of 18 in April and found that seven percent of respondents thought that brown cows make chocolate milk. , running with a similarly lighthearted take. Chocolate milk is simply regular milk that’s flavored with cocoa. Dairy uncovered the fact that some Americans are pretty disconnected from how their food travels from the farm to their table.. Those of us concerned with news literacy and public trust in media feel let down when one of these stories fools us across such a wide array of platforms. The distinction between the 7 percent of 1,000 survey respondents and 7 percent of adult Americans was murky at best – the Post did the math and deduced that 16.4 million Americans must believe that chocolate milk comes from brown cows. There’s also the grain of salt that some respondents are certainly trolling the pollsters with a knowingly ridiculous answer. According to the survey, 16.4 million believe that chocolate milk can be consumed straight from the udder of a brown cow, and a further 48 per cent were not sure where chocolate milk even came from. Case in point, a recent survey by The Innovation Center of U.S. A spokesperson for the Innovation Center told me the purpose of the survey was to “gauge some interesting and fun facts about consumers’ perceptions of dairy,” and the chocolate milk stat was apparently a winner. Password reset email has been resent. Dairy. Last week, a Washington Post headline provoked a collective groan of embarrassment: apparently “seven percent of all American adults” think that chocolate milk comes from brown cows. Dairy suggests that 7 percent of American adults believe chocolate milk comes from brown cows. Kind of a mystery eh? “To be fair, some milk questions and myths may make us smile,” the center wrote on its website to clarify the age-old cow conundrum. And did this mean that even someone who plainly knew that chocolate milk was simply any milk that had been mixed with chocolate and sugar was not given the option of choosing anything resembling the correct response? Dairy, commissioned the survey via a marketing firm, Edelman Intelligence, to kick off a campaign called, . That a piece intending to reassure us about ignorance didn’t pause to ask questions about the quality of information it was citing may be the most concerning aspect of the entire exercise.). The problem isn’t this one survey and subsequent coverage. An recent survey found 7% of all American adults believe chocolate milk comes from brown cows, raising concerns that many Americans lack basic food knowledge. (She declined to respond to my queries about the wording of the questions, and said the full results of the survey were not intended to be published. As a parent might say to a conscientious teenager who screwed up, “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.” To make progress on news and information literacy, both news producers and news consumers need to do their part. The online survey polled 1,000 American adults over a five-day period in May. A survey conducted by the Innovation Center for U.S. … VICE, on highlighting the outrageous stupidity of those making the claim, and then spoon-fed its audience other stats from the survey, all of which may be equally dubious. That a piece intending, to reassure us about ignorance didn’t pause to ask questions about the quality of information it was citing may be the most concerning aspect of the entire exercise. If you’re reading this story because you’re in that 7%, we hear your cry for help. ICYMI: The New York Times reporter who tweets like it’s going out of style. According to The Washington Post, this equates to roughly 16.4 million adults — slightly more than the Pennsylvania population. 48% said that they do not know where chocolate milk comes from. That serious, respected outlets like. A survey from the Innovation Center for U.S. It’s a great comfort drink, and, hey – you can even make it yourself. A 2017 survey found that nearly ten percent of Americans think chocolate milk comes from brown cows. Dairy revealed that 7 percent of American adults—roughly 16 million people—think that brown cows produce chocolate milk. noted that it’s difficult to gauge reliability when you don’t have any context. Dairy conducted a survey … followed up the next day with a piece about how this particular example isn’t a very worrying aspect of, . Like so many stories, it seems this one was originally hatched as a PR pitch. If we add this number to the 7 percent and recall Ragalie-Carr’s three-option response set, I guess we’re supposed to learn that 45 percent of those surveyed think chocolate milk comes from black-and-white cows, making the 7 percent pointing to brown cows officially the least impressive statistic in the bunch. “But we realize we need accurate information to make the best choices for ourselves and our families about what we eat.”. Of all the survey participants, 48% said that they were not even sure where chocolate milk comes from. A careful listener’s ear may have perked up at this exchange. and NPR ran with this story feels like a failure. Perhaps even more shocking is 7 percent of adults think chocolate milk comes from … brown cows. 7% of Americans believe chocolate milk comes from brown cows. ICYMI: Equipment you’ll need to start your own podcast, TOP IMAGE: Image via U.S. Department of Agriculture Flickr account. It was a reminder of the importance of knowing where our food comes from, a topic that touches on other relevant issues, like the much-buzzed-about rural-urban divide and the modern economy. There’s also the grain of salt that some respondents are certainly trolling the pollsters with a knowingly ridiculous answer. Does chocolate milk come from brown cows? The NPR spot didn’t go into great depth about anything besides the chocolate milk tidbit. Holy cow. Dairy suggests that 7 percent of American adults believe chocolate milk comes from brown cows. Seven percent believe that chocolate milk comes to us from brown cows… These are headlines editors probably wish they could take back, The story behind “one of the best reported pieces of the year”, Equipment you’ll need to start your own podcast, Delacorte Lectures on Magazine Journalism, Magazines and their websites: A CJR survey and report, © Copyright 2021 Columbia Journalism Review. Sadly, seven percent of Americans think so. ” think that chocolate milk comes from brown cows. Seven per cent of American adults think chocolate milk comes from brown cows, according to a survey conducted by the Innovation Center … Like so many stories, it seems this one was originally hatched as a PR pitch. A survey from the Innovation Center for U.S. The HuffPost noted that it’s difficult to gauge reliability when you don’t have any context. This week, as the headlines of major media outlets fixated on the threat to American democracy, the coronavirus pandemic continued to rage. “It is a bit surprising,” a spokeswoman for the campaign told CNN. Dairy suggests that 7 percent of American adults believe chocolate milk comes from brown cows. Admit it, you’re laughing. Dairy, commissioned the survey via a marketing firm, Edelman Intelligence, to kick off a campaign called Undeniably Dairy. (She declined to respond to my queries about the wording of the questions, and said the full results of the survey were not intended to be published.) It’s been all over the news lately: a survey by the Innovation Center for U.S. That serious, respected outlets like The Washington Post and NPR ran with this story feels like a failure. RAGALIE-CARR: Well, there was brown cows or black-and-white cows, or they didn’t know. But let’s move on. Fact: Actually, chocolate milk – or any flavored milk for that matter – is white cow’s milk with added flavoring and sweeteners. All Rights Reserved. exactly was the question phrased? Dairy found that 7 percent of American adults think chocolate milk comes from brown cows. Seven percent of all American adults believe that chocolate milk comes from brown cows, according to a nationally representative online survey commissioned by the Innovation Center of U.S. So, to the 7% that’s still reeling from your world turning upside down, have some chocolate milk. In the course of trying to dig into this simple clarification – the wording of one survey question – I kept thinking about how unreasonable it was to place such a burden on the news consumer. We’ve become accustomed to seeing these kinds of poorly phrased survey questions pop up and go viral because of some bonkers statistic they claim to support. Like most people, I recoiled in shame and horror, but also found the remainder of the article thought provoking and worthwhile. An advocacy organization, the Innovation Center for U.S. Over the course of several days, I spent dozens of hours reading every version of this reporting I could get my hands on, repeatedly went down rabbit holes following links I hoped would lead me to the raw source material, attempted to get spokespeople from three separate entities with ties to the story to respond to my request for clarification, and knew the entire time that none of it actually mattered in any big-picture way – an absurd waste of time, even for someone who works in journalism. A survey found that some adults genuinely believe chocolate milk comes from brown cows. That figure comes from an … What are the sources? According to a recent survey, 7 percent of Americans believe chocolate milk comes from brown cows. 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