1. Why is this graph misleading?
This title tells the reader
what to think (that there
are huge increases in
price).
The scale moves from 0 to 80,000 in
the same amount of space as 80,000
to 81,000.
The actual increase in price is 2,000 pounds, which is less than a 3%
increase.
The graph shows the second bar as being 3 times the size of the first
bar, which implies a 300% increase in price.

2. A more accurate graph:
An unbiased title
A scale with a regular
interval.
This shows a more accurate picture of the increase.

3. Why is this graph misleading?
The scale does not have a regular interval.

4. What does the top of this graph
show?
•About 12 million people are
downloading music legally.
•Just over 9 million people are
downloading music illegally.
The bottom of the graph is
misleading. Why?
•The graph implies that 1% of
the iPods are filled with legally
downloaded music.
•It implies that the other 99%
are filled with illegally
downloaded music.
Why is this wrong?

5. More information:
• The iPod graphic appeared in Wired magazine.
• A quote from the article: “What’s filling all that
excess capacity? Well, despite the efforts of the
Recording Industry Association of America, nearly
a billion songs are traded on P2P networks every
month.”
• This article was trying to imply that all of the
excess space is filled with illegal downloads,
which is likely untrue.
• The statistics for the article were provided by the
music industry.

6. What could be in those iPods besides
legally downloaded music?
• Empty space – most people don’t have
iPods that are filled to capacity.
• Songs that were added from legally
purchased CDs.
• Games, calendars, other applications.
• Songs that were downloaded illegally.
It is possible that the rest of the iPod contains some illegally downloaded
music, but it is unlikely that 99% of a person’s iPod is filled with illegal music.

7. Of course, there are many different ways to lie with
statistics, and now we’ll show you how it can be done
with a pictograph.
Of course, there are many different ways
to lie with statistics, and now we’ll show
you how it can be done with a pictograph.
The most deceptive aspect of this graph
is the way in which it was drawn. Firstly,
the perspective puts barrel 1979 at the
forefront and barrel 1973 at the back. This
effectively draws reader’s eyes to the 1979
barrel first and then forces him read the
rest of the years in descending order.
Supporting this deceptive tactic is the fact
that only the foremost barrels have
complete year to read. The rest are
indicated with only the last two digits, as in
‘76. Obviously, the makers of the graph
intend for the audience to read in reverse
chronological order, which has the effect of
making oil prices seem to fall.

8. Of course, there are many different ways to lie with
statistics, and now we’ll show you how it can be done
with a pictograph.
Secondly, the perspective makes
it hard to judge the numerical
difference between each barrel.
For example, even though barrel
1975 appears to be over two
thirds the height of 1976, in
reality, the difference between
them is only $0.95. Likewise,
barrel 1973 seems less than half
the height of 1974, yet they differ
by a whopping $8.54! the effect of
making oil prices seem to fall.

9. Of course, there are many different ways to lie with
statistics, and now we’ll show you how it can be done
with a pictograph.
A third misleading aspect is that
this pictograph doesn’t contain a
scale or axis’ of any kind. Without
it, the reader’s attention might be
directed to the area of each barrel
instead. Numerically, the smallest
barrel should only be about one
1/5 of the largest barrel, but in
terms of area, the ratio is about
1/25. This makes the different
between the two much larger than
it actually is.

10. Of course, there are many different ways to lie with
statistics, and now we’ll show you how it can be done
with a pictograph.
Lastly, the way in which the
barrels are labeled seem
somewhat awkward.
Shouldn’t the prices be on
the barrel instead of years?
Prices written on the barrel
will clarify that it is the cost
that is changing, not the
years. And with more space
to indicate years, readers
won’t be forced to read in
reverse.

11. Price per barrel of crude oil leaving Saudi Arabia on
Jan. 1
$14.00
$12.00
$10.00
$8.00
Price
$6.00
$4.00
$2.00
$0.00
1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Year
This graph neatly depicts the steadily rising prices of crude oil, and
shows sudden rises or drops. Each bar represents a number by its
height without using fancy images to distract the reader. The presence
of the x and y-axis’ also make it much more organized. While the
original graph tended to overstate small differences and gloss over wide
gaps, this graph is much more honest. One can see that the largest rise
occurs between 1973 and 1973, and that it continues to rise by smaller
amounts steadily over the next five years. The years on the x-axis are
all clearly marked in chronological order as well so that it is easy for
readers to understand.

12. For this type of information, using a line graph may be even more
useful than a bar graph. With a line to define the rise of fall of oil
prices, it is all the more obvious what the shape of the changing rates
look like. This graph even seems to accentuate the huge rise between
1973 and 1974. The biggest benefits of a using a line graph, however,
lies in the fact that each point is marked with small, accurate dots.
These are much easier to read than bars, and the line between them
outlines the contour of the rise.
Price per barrel of crude oil leaving Saudi Arabia
on Jan. 1
$16.00
$14.00
$12.00
$10.00
Price
$8.00
$6.00
$4.00
$2.00
$0.00
1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Year

13. What makes statistical information reliable and accurate?
Although this graph is pleasing to look at, it can also
be confusing. The author meant for the Number of
Buyers to be calculated by the height of each picture,
but the reader’s attention will be more focused on
area. What makes it even more biased is that each
monitor on the graph is a Macintosh.