How to lie with charts

This is the new edition of the definitive textbook on data visualization. There's added material on fake news and social media disinformation, misinterpretation of metadata, and the uses and abuses of Big Data. If you're using a computer to generate charts for meetings and reports, you don't have to be taught how to lie - you're already doing it. You probably don't know your charts are unreliable, and neither does your audience. So you're getting away with it - until a manager or a sales prospect or an investor makes a bad decision based on the information that you were so helpful to provide. The main focus of How to Lie with Charts is on the principles of persuasive - and undistorted - visual communication. It's about careful thinking and clear expression. So don't blame the computers. People are running the show.

Includes index.

How to lie with PowerPoint -- The numbers don't lie or do they? -- Pies or, when in doubt, throw one at them -- Orientation or, what goes up must go north -- XY charts or, the old old story of money and time -- Rader charters or, watch out for that zen speed trap! -- Axes or, handy tools for dismembering your enemies -- Chart picks and liars' tricks or, choosing chart types and styles -- Trends or, a conservative's guide to trendy thinking -- Tables and spreadsheets or, the socialite's guide to setting a nice table -- Technical analysis basics: It's anything but fundamental -- Viewports and dashboards: not quite as bad as a blurry screen -- Words for your charts or, is there any truth in labeling? -- Financial proofreading: consistency is more than its own reward -- Color: its uses and abuses -- Social media or, the disinformation superhighway -- Metadata and big data or a pointillist's view of the big picture -- How not to get cheated on or, what you need to know before the quiz.