Lying with Visualizations: Seeing Isn't Believing

By Kenwright

A provocative exploration of how visualizations can mislead, manipulate, and distort truth. This book equips readers with the critical thinking skills needed to decode deceptive graphics and uncover the reality behind the visuals.

Pages: 712
Publication: 10 October 2025
Language: English
ISBN: 9798269182964

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Looking for a new direction in Information Design? “Lying with Visualizations: Seeing Isn't Believing” makes a persuasive case for giving the subject your attention. Bring a specific question and turn the reading into a purposeful exploration. Visualisation connects analysis with the way another person sees an argument. Choose a comparison that matters and ask which design decisions make that comparison easier to understand. Bring your strongest question to the material. Examine a claim, consider an alternative, and ask what evidence would settle the difference. There is real satisfaction in turning a broad interest into a sharper judgement. Pick a question. Open a book. See where it takes you.

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Explore Analytics, Data Visualization, Media Literacy with a reading approach that gives the ideas somewhere to go. Visualisation connects analysis with the way another person sees an argument. Choose a comparison that matters and ask which design decisions make that comparison easier to understand.

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Which claims are supported by the material I can actually inspect?

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Choose one claim in the catalogue description. Identify what evidence would support it, what limits it might have, and what a sample could help you check.

Publisher’s synopsis

In an age of information overload, visualizations are everywhere - from news articles and social media to scientific reports and political campaigns. But not all visuals are created to inform. Some are designed to persuade, mislead, or even manipulate. This book dives deep into the psychology and techniques behind deceptive visualizations, exposing common tricks like misleading axes, cherry-picked data, chartjunk, and more. With real-world examples and practical analysis, readers will gain the tools to critically evaluate visual information and become savvy consumers of data.

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