Politicians Manipulating Statistics

How They Do It and How to Oppose Them

Michael Billig, Cristina Marinho (Autoren)

Buch | Softcover

264 Seiten

2025
Cambridge University Press (Verlag)
978-1-009-48816-7 (ISBN)

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Explore Billig and Marinho's highly original study of politicians misusing statistics, misleading the public and manipulating statisticians. This book also highlights how the British and French statistical agencies aim to combat this increasingly serious problem. Tailored for all audiences, it is a clearly written, insightful, and witty work.

Highly original and insightful, Billig and Marinho's book investigates how politicians misuse official statistics. Setting this problem in its historical context – and offering vivid case studies of Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Gérald Darmanin – the authors demonstrate that the manipulation of statistics involves the misuse of words as well as the misuse of numbers. Most importantly, the authors show that politicians will manipulate official statisticians to produce politically convenient, but statistically inappropriate, numbers. Another unique part of the book is that the authors are not content with analysing how statistics are manipulated, but they also rigorously analyse the efforts of statistical agencies in France and Britain to combat such manipulation. The chapters herald unsung heroes who operate largely 'behind the scenes' to expose and oppose the corruption of statistics. An indispensable read for anyone concerned with the intersection of power and data.

Michael Billig is Emeritus Professor at Loughborough University. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and received the British Psychological Society's 2023 award for Lifetime Achievement. Cristina Marinho is a Lecturer in the Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh. Together with Michael Billig, she is the author of The Politics and Rhetoric of Commemoration (2017).

Acknowledgements, List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction; 2. The rise of statistics; 3. Different ways of manipulating; 4. Donald trump: master manipulator; 5. Manipulating statistics and statisticians; 6. Establishing a statistical authority in Britain; 7. Establishing a statistical authority in France; 8. Gérald Darmanin: populism against statistics; 9. Boris Johnson: untruthful words and numbers; 10. How a manipulated covid target was exposed; 11. Final comments; Notes; Index.

Erscheinungsdatum	10.04.2025
Zusatzinfo	Worked examples or Exercises
Verlagsort	Cambridge
Sprache	englisch
Gewicht	389 g
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Psychologie ► Sozialpsychologie
Themenwelt	Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung ► Politische Theorie
ISBN-10	1-009-48816-3 / 1009488163
ISBN-13	978-1-009-48816-7 / 9781009488167
Zustand	Neuware