Misrepresenting COVID-19: Lying With Charts During the Second Golden Age of Data Design

Authors

Sara Doan, Kennesaw State University

Department

Technical Communication and Interactive Design

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2021

Abstract

In this second golden age of data design, digital affordances enable the news media to share occasionally misleading charts about COVID-19. Examining data visualizations about COVID-19 highlights three ways that charts can mislead viewers: (a) by displaying inadequate data, (b) by manipulating scales and visual distance, and (c) by omitting contextual labels needed to fully understand a chart’s message. This article provides takeaways for technical communicators about including and displaying adequate data, representing numbers consistently, and humanizing COVID-19’s effects.

Journal Title

Journal of Business and Technical Communication

Journal ISSN

10506519

Volume

35

Issue

1

First Page

73

Last Page

79

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1177/1050651920958392