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Month: May 2021

The fake Productivity versus Pay Chart on social media

The fake Productivity versus Pay Chart on social media

Propagandists share a poster on social media allegedly comparing the growth in worker compensation to the overall productivity of the U.S. The implication of the poster is that wages have stayed flat for almost 50 years while overall economic productivity has soared. That means workers are being shafted. Except for one detail – the chart compares a subset of labor compensation to total economic output – when all labor is included, both grow at the same rate. Typical of propaganda, it presents data – so it must be true – and highlights the comparison in a simple chart. Very persuasive. Propagandists know that most viewers will not engage their critical thinking skills – and hence, they allow themselves to be intentionally misled.

Old tweets haunt a BBC journalist

Old tweets haunt a BBC journalist

BBC journalist Tala Halawa posted tweets in the past saying very uncivil things about Israel and the conflict in Gaza (this years before the current military actions). Old tweets tend to come back and haunt many people.