The trick: Moved Ruler
AI made America's top 10 fears in the first year the survey asked these AI questions.
The 'more than illness' gap is 0.1 points on a 3.79-point margin.
For the first time, AI is a top 10 fear in the US.
Before you read on. Your call?
TRUE, BUT
0.1
Chapman's 2026 survey of 1,221 adults ranked AI harming the political process third at 51.9%, just above a loved one becoming seriously ill at 51.8%, on a 3.79-point margin. The AI questions were new this year and the pollster changed.
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The trick has a name
We call it Moved Ruler: two methods, two answers, one of them quoted. You'll see it again. Learn to spot it →
Receipts
- Context yahoo.com:
essentially tied with the fear of loved ones becoming gravely ill (51.8 percent)
- Refutes yahoo.com:
it's a tossup when trying to definitively rank the list's third through tenth fears
- Supports web.archive.org:
Fear of AI harming the political process ranked No. 3 (51.9%)
- Context web.archive.org:
afraid or very afraid of someone they love becoming seriously ill (51.8%)
- Context web.archive.org:
For the first time, researchers asked several questions examining fears about artificial intelligence.
- Supports web.archive.org:
surveyed 1,221 adults online from April 7 to April 21, 2026, using its probability-based AmeriSpeak panel
- Context web.archive.org:
The margin of error is plus or minus 3.79 percentage points.
- Refutes chapman.edu:
Beginning with Wave 12, the survey was conducted by NORC using the AmerisSpeak panel, a probability-based panel.
- Context chapman.edu:
Fears are ranked by the percent of Americans who reported being afraid or very afraid.
Open the Receipts Pack → What each source proves, every figure traced, and what would change our verdict.
