Revelations of the National Security Agency\u2019s global spy program, together with civil strife in Ukraine has severely damaged Barack Obama\u2019s popularity among Brazilians, Germans and Russians, a major US polling agency reported.<\/p>\n
Thanks to a series of global scandals, the United States in general, and its commander-in-chief in particular, have suffered a drop in favorability among the majority of countries polled byPew Research<\/a>.<\/p>\n “In 22 of 36 countries surveyed in both 2013 and 2014, people are significantly less likely to believe the US government respects the personal freedoms of its citizens,”<\/em>\u00a0the report said.<\/p>\n Among privacy-loving Germans – many of whom have even refused to allow the Google Maps car to film their homes – Obama\u2019s reputation nosedived when it was revealed that the NSA was collecting communication metadata not only on average Germans, but also on Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose personal mobile phone had been hacked by US intelligence.<\/p>\n Germans’ confidence in Obama sunk to 71 percent, 17 points down from 2013.<\/p>\n Tensions between NATO\u2019s two biggest members escalated this month German authorities arrested a Defense Ministry official suspected of\u00a0passing secrets<\/a>\u00a0to the US. This shocking incident came just one week after the arrest of a German intelligence officer who worked as a double agent for the Americans.<\/p>\n