TBF Statement
This graph shows the number of gun deaths in Florida over time. Florida passed a law in 2005 commonly referred to as the "stand your ground" law. Reuters published this graph to assist an article discussing the law's impact.
Today's TBF features an example of data visualization that goes against common conventions.
This graph shows the number of gun deaths in Florida over time. Florida passed a law in 2005 commonly referred to as the "stand your ground" law. Reuters published this graph to assist an article discussing the law's impact.
True?: Yes the numbers are correct.
Intention? Perhaps to make a casual reader believe that gun deaths have decreased since 2005, the year of the law's passage.
False?:
The graph actually shows deaths from firearms increasing since 2005. The inverted view is odd, where positive numbers grow downward as opposed to the normal upward view. Deaths by firearm have increased since 2005, so this graph's intuitive view is false because it defies the convention that people are used to seeing in graphs.
Here is the same graph flipped over to be more "normal":
Moral of the story: display your charts in the normal fashion, unless you have a very clear reason not to.