• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • FAQ
  • Meet the Team
  • About The London Economic
  • Advertise
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
NEWSLETTER
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News Media

PM’s new policy chief hits out at the Daily Mail for publishing “wrong” Covid data

"Why am I going on about one wrong graph? Because actually it's not just one graph: in fact the papers are filled with a torrent of this kind of thing."

Jack Peat by Jack Peat
November 23, 2020
in Media, News

The man who has been lined up to step into Dominic Cummings’ shoes has lashed out at one of the Conservative Party’s long-term advocates in the press after it published misleading data on the coronavirus crisis.

MP Neil O’Brien, who is set to lead a new policy board in No 10 and fill at least some of the policy void left by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s chief advisor, took to social media to point out flagrant inaccuracies in a Daily Mail chart that claimed fatalities are “barely any higher” than in previous years.

The Daily Mail published this chart. 2 things about it struck me. First, I’d seen the same data from the ONS, which sadly showed excess deaths in recent weeks – in fact higher than any time in the last 5 years. But this chart purported to show just the opposite. First, the Mail: pic.twitter.com/X1ojuc8v9n

— Neil O’Brien MP (@NeilDotObrien) November 23, 2020

The figures seem to be directly pulled from a Twitter account called the “Statistics Guy” who, in O’Brien’s words, is nothing more than “a cranky Covid-denial feed run by a guy with a cartoon avatar.”

The account has been known to advertise things like mass demonstrations against “The Great Reset”, a conspiracy theory which claims a group of world leaders orchestrated the pandemic to take control of the global economy.

O’Brien also points out that it is strange that the graph cuts off at a certain point when deaths start to rocket at over 200-a-day above the 5 year average.

It is quite strange that the graph cuts off there. The next week of data had come out on the 17th, and the Mail published on the 20th. But oddly, they chose not to publish the next week of data, which showed excess deaths rising to over 200 a day above the 5 year average. Odd.

— Neil O’Brien MP (@NeilDotObrien) November 23, 2020

The Yorkshire-born MP for Harborough concluded by saying reports like this are not isolated incidents.

“Why am I going on about one wrong graph? Because actually it’s not just one graph: in fact the papers are filled with a torrent of this kind of thing: “Hey, there’s no real coronavirus problem, we can call just get back to normal”. Sadly, it’s just not true.

RelatedPosts

Reactions as Ian Brown pulls out of festival because attendees may need vaccination proof

Angry reactions to 1% NHS pay rise as #Toryscum trends on Twitter

1% NHS pay rise slammed as ‘paltry insult’ but Government defends recommendation

Asylum seeker with leukaemia living at scandal-hit Barracks as Covid spread through site

“While everything should be questioned (that’s what science is), some of the papers need to apply the same standards to covid-denial content from random people with cartoon avatars that they do to the real scientists and clinicians on SAGE.”

Related: Satire “retired” after Steve Baker quotes European Convention on Human Rights

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending fromTLE

  • All
  • trending

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

Stress, fear and homelessness: The threat looming over families confronted with eviction

File photo dated 07/11/03 of a prison cell.

The Other Prison Pandemic

Latest from TLE

Elevenses: Britain’s Brexit Malaise

Tory health minister ‘pleasantly surprised’ by ‘pitiful’ 1% NHS pay rise

Test and Trace bill to pass £37 billion after quiet Budget cash injection

Credit;PA

Abhorrent attack on pensioner with leukaemia leaves her badly bruised

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: jack@thelondoneconomic.com

Commercial enquiries, please contact: advertise@thelondoneconomic.com

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech & Auto
  • About The London Economic
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy policy

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.