Thread by @JessicaHuseman

This survey was conducted online by a PR firm whose client is chlorine.

https://twitter.com/cbsnews/status/1128807179706929154

Guys I’m not joking this is real and like seven national news sites wrote this story.

The PR firm conducted the survey Bc they are being paid by this client to tell you that your eyes don’t burn bc of chlorine the burn bc of all the human sweat and shit in pools. Really.

So I mean IDK about how this survey was conducted bc I can’t find the details online (red flag!) but does it seem real to you that one quarter of ppl would get the runs and then be like “now is a good time to be in s place inconvenient to a toilet while in wet, tight clothes.”

GUYS USE YOUR CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS OR AT LEAST GOOGLE COME ON.

This thread was full of typos but I did more reporting on this survey on my phone in 10 min at 2am than any of these reporters who got paid to write that. Ain’t nobody payin me for this.

I say this to my journalism students but y’all if the results of a poll seem weird or it seems as if its asking questions no one gives a shit about (like whether you shower in a pool) then CHANCES ARE it’s a crap poll or industry sponsored and you should ask better questions.

Because WHO exactly would pay for a poll on that? Not someone who wants to pay enough money to have an actual poll done with a proper sample and appropriately written questions. They just want to know how high of a number they can throw on pool poopers. Mk IM GOIN TA BED.

Kind of surprised to find my 2am rant has done this well! Please stop tweeting at me to explain how chorine works in pools Bc that’s really not the point here!

Ppl are like “oh haha funny meme ‘did chlorine write this’ lol” - they actually did this is again not a joke.

Through @NickNehamas I have received the actual questions for this "survey." Here is the question they asked to determine that people swim instead of showering: Have you ever in your entire life done the following three things? No other options.

Of course people have rinsed off in a pool after exercise or yard work - you swim when you are hot. That's what pools are for. That is not swimming in a pool "in lieu of" showering, which this poll literally says only 23 percent of ppl have done.

So the headline - even if you buy this poll as fact - is factually inaccurate. Only 23 percent of people say they have done (maybe just one time, not even regularly) what this headline says half of people do.

LOOK 👏 AT 👏 THE 👏 ACTUAL 👏 QUESTIONS

FIND OUT 👏 WHO 👏 FUNDED 👏 THE POLL

DO NOT 👏 JUST REWRITE 👏 A PRESS RELEASE ABOUT A SURVEY

I mean, in fairness it's not even ok to call this "rewriting." CBS almost word for word just ran the press release this chemical trade group's PR firm sent out. First picture is the press release, second picture is the article.

In an effort to, idk, avoid this? I'm going to turn this into a ppt later through how to report out surveys.

I also have created a curriculum for high school investigative journalism and lessons on how to FOIA. Ask me for them. They are free. [e-mail]

am i an expert in any of that? No. but you know what there are no good free journalism tools beyond upside down triangles for journalists online and so I made some. If you are an expert, let's collab.

Hey @KWCH12 your slogan is "expect more" and I do. kwch.com/content/news/5…

.@KTNV and @FOX2now both committed video resources to this survey, almost literally allowing people who sell chlorine to sell more chlorine on their air.

Hey @WebMD OF ALL PLACES you guys should know how to vet a damn survey. You give health advice. webmd.com/children/news/…

*rubs temples* news.google.com/stories/CAAqSQ…

y'all @WebMD even tweeted about this nonsense survey.

https://twitter.com/WebMD/status/1129167148113436677