Poll shows Israel, US tops in negative influence on world

Israel is perceived as having the most negative influence on the world, according to a poll conducted by BBC World Service radio.

The radio survey of 28,000 people in 27 countries indicated that the country with the highest negative response was Israel with 56 percent negative.

The United States was seen as negative by 51 percent.

GlobalScan, which did the survey for the BBC, on its site had Steven Kull, Director of PIPA, commenting that "It appears that people around the world tend to look negatively on countries whose profile is marked by the use or pursuit of military power. This includes Israel and the US, who have recently used military force, and North Korea and Iran, who are perceived as trying to develop nuclear weapons. Countries that relate to the world primarily through soft power, like Japan, France, and the EU in general, tend to be viewed positively."

It is not clear the effect the US media can have on such surveys by their focus on negative aspects of countries such as Iran which the US in general have regarded as enemy.

Respondents were given a list of 12 countries and asked if they had a "mostly positive or mostly negative influence in the world."

Over the three years the BBC has been tracking opinions about countries' influence in the world, most ratings have remained relatively stable.