Tell Me I'm Wrong | Day 1: The easiest way to lie with data is to t...

Tell Me I'm Wrong | Day 1: The easiest way to lie with data is to tell the truth. You don't have to make up numbers to mislead people. Sometimes all you have to do is leave out the ones that don't support your argument. I've spent over a decade in market research, and few things frustrate me more than watching good research get twisted to justify decisions someone already made. Now imagine a company testing a new product. Research shows that 88% of respondents would consider buying it, but only 17% say they're "very likely" to purchase it at the proposed price. Guess which number makes it into the executive presentation? "88% OF CUSTOMERS WOULD CONSIDER BUYING OUR NEW PRODUCT!" Technically true! Sounds like a winner! Never mind that only 17% expressed strong purchase intent at that price, or that production costs might force the price even higher. The research did its job. The presentation didn't. And lets not pretend this only happens in business. We all cherry-pick information to support our arguments, conveniently leaving out details that don’t “work” for us. Looking at data isnt the same as understanding what it actually tells you. An accurate statistic can still support a completely misleading narrative. So, tell me Im wrong. At what point does selectively presenting the truth become lying?