Torture Creep - By Amy Zegart | Foreign Policy
►http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/09/25/torture_creep?page=0,1
This leaves option three: media effects — specifically, the influence of spy movies and TV shows. This sounds silly, I know, but the data say otherwise. As I noted in my last column, spy-themed entertainment has skyrocketed over the past decade or so. And there is plenty of anecdotal evidence suggesting that the boundary between fake spies and the real world is blurring in some disconcerting ways, from CIA directors pondering Hollywood hypotheticals in their confirmation hearings to Twitter users thanking Jack Bauer when Osama bin Laden was killed.
84 percent of frequent spy TV watchers are willing to assassinate terrorists vs. 70 percent of infrequent watchers
38 percent of frequent spy TV watchers believe waterboarding is right vs. 28 percent of infrequent watchers
60 percent of frequent spy TV watchers think transferring a terrorist to a country known for using torture is right vs. 45 percent of infrequent watchers
34 percent of spy-movie goers say that chaining naked terrorist detainees in uncomfortable positions is right vs. 27 percent of non-movie goers
53 percent of spy-movie goers support transferring terrorists to a country known for using torture vs. 41 percent of non-movie goers.