How things are is important of course, and how people THINK things are is also important, as it can lead to changes.
Take "assault weapons" for example, a majority of voters want them banned thinking it would reduce crime by a lot, when that is factually incorrect, by a lot.
A lot of folks want climate change addressed because they think that's important without understanding what we're trying to do is irrelevant to the underlying causes.
A lot of folks think illegal immigrants increase crime rates, when everything I read says that isn't the case, but any time an illegal does something heinous, it makes the "news" in a big way (at least some places).
The "news" often takes an issue and exaggerates it for eyeballs and clicks and that influences how people think, which influences how politicians pretend to "do something".
