The Honesty Project is an opinion survey series from The Free Press that asks Americans about sensitive issues they might not feel comfortable sharing publicly. In partnership with think tank Populace, the project aims to gauge true public opinion by overcoming biases in traditional polls. The latest installment explores contentious topics such as capitalism, data center construction, and American views on Israel, billionaires, and Jewish influence. Key findings suggest that only a third of Americans privately express a positive view of capitalism.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-10,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A survey conducted by The Honesty Project, in partnership with Populace, aimed to gauge Americans' private opinions on various issues. Only 33% of respondents expressed a positive view of capitalism, and more than 40% were open to voting for a socialist. This survey is part of a series that seeks to overcome the bias inherent in traditional polls by asking questions that respondents might not feel comfortable answering publicly. The project's goal is to understand what Americans really think about sensitive topics.
Written for “The Honesty Project Findings” on 2026-09-10,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 7554 · logged 2026-09-10
We’re asking Americans what they believe about the most important issues in public life.
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they → ask → life
And we’re going deeper than a typical poll.
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we → go → poll
We partnered with Populace, an opinion-research think tank, to design surveys that gauge respondents’ “private” opinions—the views they feel are too sensitive to share publicly.
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they → partner → opinions
Our goal is to overcome the bias inherent in polls, which often elicit less than honest responses, and to understand what parts of American life people don’t feel they can speak about freely.
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they → overcome → life
For more on how these surveys work, and why they are better at gauging true public opinion, watch this explainer video, then scroll down for the key findings from our poll:
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they → work → poll
In our last installment we asked about capitalism versus socialism, and found that Americans are losing faith in free enterprise.
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Americans → ask → enterprise
Only a third privately express a positive view of capitalism, and more than 40 percent are privately open to voting for a socialist.
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percent → express → socialist
This week, we dive deeper into some of the most hotly contested questions in our politics.
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we → dive → politics
Among them: Have billionaires rigged the political system?
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billionaires → rig → system
Should we slow down data center construction, or leave it alone?
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we → slow → it
How do Americans view Israel?
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Americans → view → Israel
And, with antisemitism on the rise, are claims about Jewish influence limited to the fringes, or widespread among the American people?
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claims → limit → people
We found that:
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We → find → that
