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Misleading graphs are often used in false advertising. One of the first authors to write about misleading graphs was Darrell Huff, publisher of the 1954 book How to Lie with Statistics. The field of data visualization describes ways to present information that avoids creating misleading graphs.
Statistics, when used in a misleading fashion, can trick the casual observer into believing something other than what the data shows. That is, a misuse of statistics occurs when a statistical argument asserts a falsehood. In some cases, the misuse may be accidental. In others, it is purposeful and for the gain of the perpetrator.
Spreading false information can also seriously impede the effective and efficient use of the information available on social media. [124] An emerging trend in the online information environment is "a shift away from public discourse to private, more ephemeral, messaging ", which is a challenge to counter misinformation.
Recently, a lot of work has gone into helping detect and identify fake news through machine learning and artificial intelligence. [76] [77] [78] In 2018, researchers at MIT's CSAIL created and tested a machine learning algorithm to identify false information by looking for common patterns, words, and symbols that typically appear in fake news. [79]
The persistent false claim that vaccines cause autism is a prime example of Brandolini's law. This famous case involved British doctor Andrew Wakefield who wrote an article about a study that claimed to find a relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism.
For example, if a pharmaceutical company wishes to explore the effect of a medication on the common cold but the data sample only includes men, any conclusions made from that data will be biased towards how the medication affects men rather than people in general. That means the information would be incomplete and not useful for deciding if the ...
For example, by truncating the bottom of a line or bar chart so that differences seem larger than they are. Or, by representing one-dimensional quantities on a pictogram by two- or three-dimensional objects to compare their sizes so that the reader forgets that the images do not scale the same way the quantities do.
A credible source strives to publish accurate information. These sources base their content on evidence and rarely share false or misleading details. When they do make errors, they promptly correct them. They also have standards to verify information and recognize potential biases in their work.