Abstract:

Media organizations are required to present the results of public opinion polls (results of election polls) in accordance with the standards set by internationally recognized public opinion poll organizations such as AAPOR, ESOMAR, and WAPOR within the framework of ethical principles. The purpose of this study is to examine whether media organizations (newspapers-internet news sites) comply with the standards set by internationally recognized organizations within the framework of ethical principles while presenting the results of election polls in non-election periods, and to discuss what can be done to better fulfill the duties and responsibilities of the media in this regard. In this context, a table was created by combining the ethical principles determined by AAPOR, ESOMAR / WAPOR. In line with the purpose of the study, 5 national-printed newspapers with the highest circulation (excluding sports newspapers and those published in foreign languages) and 5 most visited news organization websites on the internet were determined, and a total of 8 newspapers-internet news websites (Because of some of them are same) were included in the study. News on election polls presented newspapers-internet news websites were analyzed using content analysis method. The news on election polls are reached by using the keywords "public opinion poll", "survey", "last election survey" and "election poll" in the search bars of the newspapers-internet news websites. The study covers the election polls published between September 01, 2019 and April 30, 2021. As a result of the study conducted on 5 news sites based on the newspapers with the highest circulation and the most visited news sites, it has been seen that the media organizations (newspapers-internet news websites) in general do not include the information that should be given therefore, they do not comply with ethical principles in the news while publishing the election surveys. This result shows that media organizations (newspapers-internet news sites) should include more information that should be included in the news while reporting public opinion surveys (election surveys). This is important both for the media to fulfill its duties and responsibilities, and for the society to receive accurate information about public opinion polls (results of election polls), and therefore for the healthy functioning of democracy

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