"Popular perception" refers to the collective beliefs or opinions held by a large group of people. It represents how most individuals view or interpret something based on common understanding or general consensus. Full definition
Those pieces helped shape popular perceptions of landscape painting that persist to this day: mostly idyllic, representational, and male dominated. (pasadenaweekly.com)
This, too, is consistent with popular perceptions. (firstthings.com)
There is a contradiction between the observed continued warming trend and popular perceptions about climate trends. (climatesciencewatch.org)