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You can be helpful with statistics , but this I saw on CBS news looks pretty sneaky : The news is that Americans are either concerned (31 %) or scared (22 %) about what comes with the leadership. But the caption says 53% are concerned or scared. It looks as though the motivation is to push the number past the magic 50%. Or just someone typing furiously in the backroom.
Popularized in United States by Mark Twain (among others), who attributed it to the British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."
Regarding the claim by CBS news, it of course depends on how the survey/poll was structured. If there was a list of emotional terms that included "concerned" and "scared" along with others like "neutral" "happy" "anxious" etc. AND respondents had to select the ONE term that best described them, then sure ... it would add up to 53%. Lacking more information about the survey/poll question structure the claim is meaningless.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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