Data Does Not Lie, But People Do
- Bitcoin Brunch
- Oct 26, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 7, 2024
Many personal decisions, economic polices and political decisions are made based on analyst reports and data provided. You read an article or news story and are presented with data that you believe is accurate. The information we receive affects our thoughts and actions and influences our beliefs.
We rely on many actors to convey ample information to us daily across various media points. As we read and consider the information received, it is important to ask — who is gathering the information and is the data accurate?
The data being featured isn't always accurate and often distorted for political or ideological motivation. Highlighted below are two stunning recent examples of data being adjusted or manipulated for political benefit. One institution hypes all the new jobs they created, while another flaunts how crime has been reduced.
LABOR BUREAU CHANGES NUMBER OF ACTUAL JOBS REPORTED
In August of 2024, the Labor Bureau revised the unemployment numbers for March 2023 – March 2024. The Labor Bureau revised reports with a decrease of 818,000 jobs from numbers previously reported. The edit was the largest downward revision in the past 15 years.
LABOR BUREAU CHANGES NUMBER OF ACTUAL JOBS REPORTED
The FBI recently revised crime data from 2022. The FBI reported violent crime decreased 1.7% in 2022, but last month the FBI quietly adjusted those figures showing violent crimes actually increased 4.9% in 2022. The annual report didn't even mention their edit of the 2022 data. Prior to 2020, there were very few with mostly no revisions to the FBI data reported.
Both recent examples reveal that even in our data-driven world, information reported can be shaped to present a particular narrative. We are constantly presented with information and data which may be factual or may reflect incorrect or skewed information. In the above highlighted stories, showing a decrease in crime rates or increase in employment numbers framed a particular distorted viewpoint in the minds of millions of readers or listeners.
An ordinary person zipping through news stories doesn't have time to research every datapoint. Perhaps, AI will help us sort out biased information and help us identify the objective data, but for now the information being reported as well as who is responsible for gathering the data may in fact be partial. When data reported is based on skewed numbers and the correct information is reported months or years later, this is sometimes manipulative and can be propaganda or directed for political gain. When the data is presented and by whom, often reflects or reinforces a particular narrative. When the data changes at a later point in time, it brings one to question — Why wasn't the data presented accurate? — What was the underlying cause of the inaccuracy or correction?
Who is compiling the data? Who decides what information to reveal? Who decides which information is correct? Who decides when information is presented? Who oversees or edits the information presented? Who decides the timing of when inaccuracies are revised? Who employs the information gatherers and data compilers? What incentive do they have to show accurate information or obfuscate the data with skewed information? To whom does it benefit if it is accurate or obscured?
It is important to realize that the information inputs you receive may appear well-sourced and datacentric, but may be hand selected or threaded with inaccuracies, obscurities or even lies that favor a select viewpoint in hopes to influence a particular result. Although the data may be veritable, the people presenting it or the way information is shaped may not.
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For more detailed information about this topic, see Revised FBI Crime Data article by Crime Statistics, Oct 10, 2024
