Já não era mau

BBC Editoral Guidelines

Reporting opinion polls
The following rules for reporting the findings of voting intention polls in the United Kingdom conducted by any polling organisation must be applied:

- we do not lead a news bulletin or programme simply with the results of a voting intention poll.
- we do not headline the results of a voting intention poll unless it has prompted a story which itself deserves a headline and reference to the poll's findings is necessary to make sense of it.
-we do not rely on the interpretation given to a poll's results by the organisation or publication which commissioned it. We should look at the questions, the results and the trend.
- we report the findings of voting intention polls in the context of trend. The trend may consist of the results of all major polls over a period or may be limited to the change in a single pollster's findings. Poll results which defy trends without convincing explanation should be treated with particular care.
- we do not use language which gives greater credibility to the polls than they deserve. We should say polls "suggest" but never "prove" or even "show".
-we report the expected margin of error if the gap between the contenders is within the margin. Television and online graphics should always show the margin of error.
- we report the organisation which carried out the poll and the organisation or publication which commissioned it. This information too should always be shown in television and online graphics.
- we report the dates of the fieldwork, and include them in television and online graphics, and draw attention to events which may have had a significant effect on public opinion since it was done.
- we report whether the poll was carried out face to face, by telephone or over the internet.