How to Spot Visualization Lies : Keep your eyes open by Nathan Yau.
From the post:
It used to be that we’d see a poorly made graph or a data design goof, laugh it up a bit, and then carry on. At some point though — during this past year especially — it grew more difficult to distinguish a visualization snafu from bias and deliberate misinformation.
Of course, lying with statistics has been a thing for a long time, but charts tend to spread far and wide these days. There’s a lot of them. Some don’t tell the truth. Maybe you glance at it and that’s it, but a simple message sticks and builds. Before you know it, Leonardo DiCaprio spins a top on a table and no one cares if it falls or continues to rotate.
So it’s all the more important now to quickly decide if a graph is telling the truth. This a guide to help you spot the visualization lies.
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Warning: Your blind acceptance/enjoyment of news graphics may be diminished by this post. You have been warned.
Beautifully illustrated as always.
Perhaps Nathan will product a double-sided, laminated version to keep by your TV chair. A great graduation present!