| Topic: | UK Statistics Authority, FullFact and FactCheck | |
| Posted by: | Thomas Barry | |
| Date/Time: | 10/07/13 17:35:00 |
| "And so why should he believe government figures and views any more than newspaper figures and views?" One reason is that they're (well, central government, local government including the London mayoralty is exempt) are actually subject to statutory oversight by the UK Statistics Authority, which has a code of conduct and writes rude letters and publishes them on its website when it catches them bending. They're quite fun to read. http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/reports---correspondence/correspondence/index.html I'm sure if a similar system was imposed on the press they'd accept it in the same good grace as they've accepted the Leveson Inquiry recommendations on accuracy and conduct. You do get the odd funny like the Daily Mail, on being caught telling lies, blaming the DWP for supplying them - Iain Duncan Smith, not surprisingly, has got quite a lot of rude letters from the UKSA about misuse of national statistics, which tells you a lot about the DWP. http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/07/daily-mail-corrects-misleading-benefit-statistics-dwp-prepares-mps-grilling Also, FullFact and Channel 4's FactCheck are both pretty good on finding out the reality behind the spin. Basically there's no real excuse for anyone with a brain and an internet connection being as ignorant as the IpsosMORI poll suggests. |