Fake statistics

Politics

Bad Chart Thursday: Border Patrol Pads Assault Data to Falsely Claim Down Is Up

Assaults on Border Patrol agents have been decreasing for years, but as Debbie Nathan of the Intercept reported earlier this week, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in fiscal year 2015, started quietly padding the data enough to make a downward trend look like an increase. Rather than assault numbers reflecting the number of incidents or officers assaulted, CBP multiplies…