Two weeks ago, before a debate over the Confederate flag and several momentous Supreme Court judgements stole the public’s attention, the media was briefly caught up in a controversy over a single word spoken by the president in an interview for a popular podcast called WTF. Some headlines: “Obama uses N-word, says we are ‘not cured’ of racism” “Making a Point, Obama Invokes a Painful Slur”. There were critics: one commentator said it made Obama the “rapper-in-chief” and another called it “beneath the office of the president” – but also those who called his use of the word “appropriate” and his wider remarks “right”.

Which camp is more representative of the public at large? According to an experiment YouGov conducted over the past week – it’s all about how much information people are given before being asked to judge.