USA Today deleted a story based on a survey about underwear because it “did not meet our standards.”
The article has been replaced with a note reading: “A story published Thursday by USA TODAY, based on a survey by an underwear company, has been removed. The story did not meet our standards.”
iMediaEthics wrote to USA Today to ask if the problem was that the poll didn’t meet its standards for polls, or if the story itself was the problem. iMediaEthics also has written to Tommy John to ask for information about the survey such as if it was an opt-in entertainment survey, or a scientific study.
The Aug. 15 story was headlined, “Tommy John wanted to know how many people change underwear every day. The results might surprise you,” according to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. It reported on the Tommy John survey claiming that “45 percent” of 1,000 surveyed Americans “wore the same pair of underwear for ‘two days of longer.'” It linked to a Tommy John blog about the survey, which didn’t note how it found the people it surveyed, what the response rate was, what the margin of error, or how the survey was conducted.
While USA Today deleted its story, other news outlets like New York Daily News and NBC News’ Today have left their stories about the Tommy John underwear survey live.
Hat Tip: Steve Bien-Aime