And North America and Western Europe all strongly favored freedom of the press, if you read the whole article. I think that if you want to understand why people responded as they did, you just need to read the article carefully and look at who was asked and what they were asked. Most people almost everywhere found a free press more important than social stability but the countries where a large minority didn't are precisely those which suffer from great instability. While I wouldn't endorse their position, I can understand how someone in a chaotic, underdeveloped country might be willing to sacrifice some freedom for some more security. In some areas, Americans seemed and still seem to be willing to do the same thing after 9/11, although I dislike that as well.