Facebook Factcheck Fail

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There was a big Facebook factcheck fail about a week ago.  It started when I posted this:

Bidinflation Facebook Factcheck Fail

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Seems straightforward.  Imagine my surprise when Facebook flagged it.

Facebook notice Facebook Facebook Factcheck Fail

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Missing context?  Luckily it was easy for me to find the relevant table on the BLS website.  Just for my readers, here’s the comparison of the image I posted with the actual figures from the BLS.

Bidinflation items Facebook Factcheck Fail

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Missing context?  Here are the inflation rates for the CPI and its components over the last 21 months.

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Sure, the context makes a huge difference. Most of the components are currently around 5 percent. That line way up at the top of the graph is transportation, coming in hot at 20 percent at its peak.  FWIW, these are year over year rates.

Update: here’s the Politi”fact” “reasoning.”

Facebook reply Facebook factcheck fail

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About Tony Lima

Retired after teaching economics at California State Univ., East Bay (Hayward, CA). Ph.D., economics, Stanford. Also taught MBA finance at the California University of Management and Technology. Occasionally take on a consulting project if it's interesting. Other interests include wine and technology.

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