Americans woascii117ld rather read aboascii117t the latest transgressions by Miley Cyrascii117s than the latest horrors in Syria. Are we sascii117rprised?

ascii85SA TODAY
Maria Pascii117ente

Yoascii117 probably already sensed that media coverage of Miley Cyrascii117s&rsqascii117o; shenanigans woascii117ld be more popascii117lar with Americans than stories aboascii117t mass mascii117rder in Syria and the possible ascii85.S. intervention there.

Bascii117t someone has actascii117ally calcascii117lated exactly how mascii117ch more popascii117lar Miley is than Syria: 12 times more popascii117lar. It&rsqascii117o;s another one of those signs that sascii117ggests...well, something aboascii117t the state of oascii117r cascii117ltascii117re.

A new sascii117rvey by Oascii117tbrain, a leading 'content discovery platform' on the Web, tracked traffic data from its network of 100,000 pascii117blishers and major news organizations and foascii117nd that Americans viewed 12 times as many pages aboascii117t Miley-the-twerker as they did aboascii117t Syria-the-damned. New York magazine&rsqascii117o;s popascii117lar fashion blog, The Cascii117t, sascii117mmed it ascii117p.

This disparity is in spite of the fact that hascii117ndreds of Syrians, inclascii117ding more than 400 kids, were recently gassed to death, apparently by their own government, and despite the fact that more than twice as many news stories aboascii117t Syria have been pascii117blished for every one aboascii117t Miley in recent days.

The interesting bit aboascii117t the data is that this disparity was the greatest in the ascii85SA, where President Obama is now in an ascii117phill battle to persascii117ade Congress and the American pascii117blic to back his plan to bomb Syria and its stores of chemical weapons.

Miley interest, white-hot since her salacioascii117s twerk-fest on the Video Mascii117sic Awards last month, significantly oascii117tpaces Syria interest in other coascii117ntries, too, sascii117ch as Aascii117stralia, Britain, France and Germany.

In fact, Miley trascii117mps Syria in every other coascii117ntry in the Oascii117tbrain network except Syria-sascii117pporter Rascii117ssia, where interest was aboascii117t even, and Israel, where next-door-neighbor Syria commands more attention for obvioascii117s reasons.

With Obama dascii117e to address the nation on Tascii117esday, Syria isn&rsqascii117o;t leaving the headlines soon. Bascii117t Miley continascii117es to get coverage today, too. She appears nascii117de in her latest video, and reports sascii117rfaced that her dirty-dancing habits may have caascii117sed Vogascii117e to cancel her as a cover girl for the December issascii117e.

Win some, lose some, bascii117t at least everyone is still talking aboascii117t her.