Only 15% Indians know about Pegasus. But once aware, their distrust of Modi govt grows
PRASHNAM INSIGHT #38
The ongoing monsoon session seems to be a washout because of the government’s refusal to heed the relentless demand of the opposition for a discussion/debate on the Pegasus issue as a primary condition for smooth functioning of the Parliament. On the other hand, the coverage of this issue has been ‘uneven’ by the Indian media.
Prashnam decided to do a survey on the awareness about Pegasus and whether people think that government snoops on the common man too?
The survey was done with nearly 3500 respondents across 12 states.
The following two questions were asked.
1: Over the last few days, there has been news in the media about a certain “Pegasus” issue. What do you know about it?
A: I have not heard about it
B: Yes, I have heard of it. It is a new vaccine for Covid-19.
C: Yes, I have heard of it. It is spyware used to snoop on people’s phones.
D: Do not want to answer.
Of those, that knew what Pegasus was, they were asked a follow up question to check how serious they thought this issue was.
2: Do you think the Modi govt has used Pegasus to spy on even ordinary citizens?
A: Yes, the Modi government snoops on ordinary citizens too using Pegasus
B: No, the Modi government does not snoop on ordinary citizens.
C: I do not know.
Only 15% people are aware that Pegasus is a snooping software. 59% have not heard about it or think that it is new Covid vaccine. 26% chose not to answer the question.
It seems that the coverage has been sparse otherwise in a country with high penetration of digital news.
Of those who know that Pegasus is a snoop ware, 37% of them think that the government is spying on common man too. This percentage is striking even though a small fraction of the total survey sample.
Read the full report in The Print here
The raw response data is available here.