More or Less
BBC checks the numbers in the news, giving sources and margins of error
28:42The chart showing UK pensions at the bottom of Europe compares completely different things
The viral chart showing ‘UK pensions rock-bottom in Europe’ bundles incomparable figures from different countries; broken down, UK retiree income replacement ratios and poverty rates are actually respectable—the difference is whether retirement security comes from the state or from private pensions.
30:22UK's 'Nine of Ten Poorest Regions' Drops to Two With a Different Income Measure
By GDP per head, the UK does occupy nine of Northern Europe's ten poorest regions; switch to household disposable income—a better proxy for living standards—and that figure drops to two.
29:04The UK's productivity crisis was a statistical error: 0.7% became 1.3%
Fifteen years of Britain being cast as the worst performer on productivity among developed economies may have been an ONS miscalculation of hours worked — counting people on holiday as working 40 hours inflated the denominator and pushed productivity down.
8:58Carrots Haven't Lost Their Nutrients — What Changed Is the Zinc and Iron in Wheat
The popular claim that depleted soil is making vegetables less nutritious has no data behind it; what is actually documented is the dilution effect in high-yield dwarf wheat, where zinc has fallen by about half.
28:28Bad teeth are the number one reason kids go to A&E? The number got misread
A British MP said teeth are the top reason children end up in A&E. The actual figure refers to 5-to-18-year-olds hospitalised for tooth decay — not the same thing, and the decay rate is actually drifting down.