On simply statistics, Fox News was discussed a lot on how many of their charts are not used correctly. For me, it was the only news media result that I obtained right away for misusing statistics and conclusions by utilizing graphs or charts. If anyone else has others, that would be great as well. URL: http://simplystatistics.org/2012/11/26/the-statisticians-at-fox-news-use-classic-and-novel-graphical-techniques-to-lead-with-data/
It is obvious that the point here is to state that the top tax rates with "dramatically" increase if the Bush Tax Cuts expire in 2013. The problem arises when it is seen that there is a missing zero baseline. What does the 35% mean or the 39.6% mean if there is no baseline?
This chart was reported by the journal Business Day in 2013 in Australia. South Africa is labeled at a value of 1 and Australia is labeled at a value of 34. This chart, although sort of unreadable, "depicts" that "The Australian dollar is almost 12% overvalued under REER, and overvalued by 12.2%," stated by The Economist's index. Shockingly, a perfectly straight line is formed. This is also a good indicator of useless information provided (shown by the currency acronyms provided with the names of the countries, as well as the "Value Ranking" key on the top), which actually allows the chart to look more scientific. It is also not a line segment, presuming that the values decrease into the negatives and also increase more than Australia.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/dollar-the-most-overvalued-currency-20130215-2eho2.html#ixzz2N1tQWZym
Below is a report on the "Unemployment Rate" under the presidential term of President Obama. Below the Fox News chart is a realistic chart of what the statistics on the unemployment rate really is.
Fox News scrunched the percentages closer together to make it seem that the unemployment rate as barely decreased and had actually increased a lot more. There is also not a baseline, and the numbers are very skewed! The most dramatic is the 8.6% on the right end of the chart not decreasing in comparison to the 9%, but actually staying with it! It would also be concerning on how unemployment was measured, as we have also learned in class that this definition can differ dramatically depending on what is being measured and how.
This was so ridiculous, I showed my mom. The unemployment graph did it for me. The 8.6% in November is inexplicably at the same level as the 9.0% in October, and somehow higher than the 8.8% and 8.9% in February and March. They get away with it because who bothers looking at every number on a news graphic before it disappears? By the time it gets noticed and online, Fox can apologize for an unintended error and carry on. The first graph is even more manipulative, making a 4% difference look more like a 90% increase in doom come January 1. I read more from the simplystatistics site you posted, and another one similar to it, and found more examples of blatantly misleading graphics and fudged statistics. For example, a pie chart had 120% of respondents answering a question about whether global warming research was falsified. The graphic presented "Somewhat Likely," "Very Likely," and "Not Very Likely" as three separate categories, but threw the "Very Likely" numbers in with the "Somewhat Likely" category as well, making the total well over 100%.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great example of how graphics can be manipulated to mislead viewers. This shows how the media's own agenda can affect how they report the numbers to sway the public's opinion. Most people will not notice the graphs' flaws because they are only flashed on the tv screen for a few seconds. The small scale of the first graph, in my opinion, is the most misleading. People will look at the picture, rather than the numbers and think there is a big difference. When looking at graphs, it is important to take time to look at the data being presented.
ReplyDeleteI found this highlight of the news story to be incredibly interesting Emma. Thank you so much for your contribution. I wonder how Fox News slogan can remain "Fair and Balanced" after witnessing the irrefutable errors in their graphics...
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