How do we know what we know?

I read this and was stunned: Hong Kong "not only has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, it ranks third in a list compiled by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in 2011 of places with the least homicides.
Hong Kong — with an intentional homicide rate of 0.2 per 100,000 people in the last 16 years — only lost out to Monaco and Palau, where there have been zero recorded murders." (Travel article 10 things Hong Kong does better)

Now I've been to Hong Kong, and I didn't experience any fearful, violent situations. In fact, we had a lovely time, it's a great city. So I'm not sure why I was so surprised by this fact. Monaco didn't surprise me at all - who couldn't be happy there (and it's so tiny)? It's not that I thought Hong Kong was a dangerous place, but it is like a big city, and with that comes a certain level of crime (as does Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and so on).
After further thought, I've decided it's the fault of the movies I watch. In HK made films (or Chinese films, that are set in HK), there are drug lords and shoot outs galore - or just martial art violence. So I've just accepted a 'Hollywood' version of events as reality, without even thinking about it. Jackie Chan, I blame you for my ignorance.

Which got me thinking, what else have I done this with? Is my reality based on fictions I've acquired and taken as truths? Unfortunately, you don't know what you don't know. But it has made me think perhaps I need to be more open minded on ideas and experiences (and places) or at least think about the basis for some of my opinions.

Have you ever had your reality shift in an instant, based on misinformation?

Linking up with Jess for IBOT.