Wiktionary
n. (plural of public English)
Wikipedia
Publics are small groups of people who follow one or more particular issue very closely. They are well informed about the issue(s) and also have a very strong opinion on it/them. They tend to know more about politics than the average person, and, therefore, exert more influence, because these people care so deeply about their cause(s) that they donate a lot of time and money. Therefore, it is unlikely for a politician to be reelected if he or she did not please the publics while in office.
Usage examples of "publics".
London dislikes the constant conflict with the Iraqi air defense forces, fears that it might lose a plane (and have a pilot captured by Iraq), and worries that the anger of Arab publics against the allied responses is undermining both their standing in the region and other aspects of containment.
Thus the moderate Arab states must deal with publics who are increasingly frustrated by their economic and political circumstances and who have been taught that Israel and the United States are the source of many (in some cases all) of their woes.