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Andy Garrett @andygarrett.bsky.social · 7h

Or only allow Nokia.

Reposted by Andy Garrett

Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 2d

Nice chart from @ourworldindata.org showing the contrast between what Americans die of (heart disease and cancer) v what the US media reports on (homicide and terrorism). This naturally leads to it being trickier to build a fact based world view
ourworldindata.org/does-the-new...

What Americans die from
and the causes of death the US media reports on
Causes of death in the US in 2023
Heart disease (29%)
Cancer (26%)
Accidents (9.5%)
Stroke (6.9%)
Lower respiratory diseases
(6.2%)
Alzheimer's disease (4.8%)
Diabetes (4.0%)
Kidney failure (2.4%)
Liver disease (2.2%)
Homicide (<1%)
Terrorism (<0.001%)|
COVID-19 (2.1%)
Influenza/Pneu
monia (19%6)

Media coverage of these causes of death in 2023 in...
The New York Times
The Washington Post
Fox News
Heart disease (2.8%)
Heart disease (2.9%)
Cancer (4.1%)
Cancer (4.7%)
Accidents (5.9%)
Cancer (3.8%)
Accidents (6.1%)
Accidents (9.7%)
Suicide (4.1%)
Suicide (3.3%)
COVID-19 (6.0%)
COVID-19 (7.9%)
Suicide (3.8%)
COVID-19 (5.3%)
Drug overdose (7.5%)
Drug overdose (9.8%)
Drug overdose (9.5%)
Cancer (26%)
Accidents (9.5%)
Stroke (6.9%)
Lower respiratory diseases
(6.2%)
Alzheimer's disease (4.8%)
Diabetes (4.0%)
Kidney failure (24%)
Suicide (2.1%0)
COVID-19 (2.1%0
Homicide (42%)
Homicide (52%)
Homicide (46%)
Terrorism (18%)
Terrorism (12%)
Terrorism (11%)
Homicide (<1%)
Terrorism (<0.001%)
Note: Based on the share of causes of death in the US and the share of mentions for each of the causes in the New York Times, the Washington Post and Fox News. All values are normalized to 100%, so the shares are relative to all deaths caused by the 12 most common causes + drug overdoses, homicides and terrorism. These causes account for more than 75% of deaths in the US.
A "media mention" is a published article in one of the outlets which mentions the cause (e,g. "influenza) or related keywords (e.g. "fu") least twice.
Data sources: Media mentions from Media Cloud (2025): deaths data from the US CDC (2025) and Global Terrorism Index.|
CC BY

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Reposted by Andy Garrett

Royal Statistical Society @royalstatsoc.bsky.social · 6d

We’ve joined @senseaboutsci.bsky.social @resmedia.bsky.social & @niesrorg.bsky.social in writing to PACAC to defend the independence of UK stats 📊

Free from political pressure = trustworthy data = better decisions for all.

rss.org.uk/news-publica...

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Andy Garrett @andygarrett.bsky.social · 8d

rss.org.uk/policy-campa...).

@royalstatsoc.bsky.social explainer here. Not a surprise.

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Reposted by Andy Garrett

Zeke Hausfather @hausfath.bsky.social · 15d

In a UN speech today, President Trump said that "all of these [climate] predictions were wrong".

Back in 2019 I led a research effort to digitize old climate model projections and assess how well they did. Turns out they got future warming pretty spot on!

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Andy Garrett @andygarrett.bsky.social · 14d

Look no further than the Kefauver-Harris Amendment (1962).

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Andy Garrett @andygarrett.bsky.social · 14d

Regulation (in the US and elsewhere) was of course introduced in response to thalidomide. And thalidomide was not approved in the US. Those checks and balances are in place to ensure that an evidence based approach is adopted so that politicians can be informed by the evidence.

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Andy Garrett @andygarrett.bsky.social · 15d

When we all thought label content actually depended upon pre-specified primary and secondary estimands, with appropriate family-wise control, from two independent adequate and well controlled RCTs - supported by an ISS and an ISE.

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Andy Garrett @andygarrett.bsky.social · 15d

www.forbes.com/sites/joshua...

A useful reminder of what happens when due process is not followed. We have regulatory agencies with a breadth & depth of expertise for a reason (inc labelling). Look no further than the Kefauver-Harris Amendment (1962) & earlier Drug, Food and Cosmetic act (1938).

Trump Promoted Hydroxychloroquine, A Drug Now Linked To 17,000 Deaths

Trump promoted the use of hydroxychloroquine as Covid-19 treatment in the spring of 2020. A new study shows that the drug has been linked to approximately 17,000 deaths.

www.forbes.com

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Reposted by Andy Garrett

European Medicines Agency @ema.europa.eu · 15d

Paracetamol remains an important option to treat pain or fever in pregnant women.

Following rigorous assessment of the available scientific data, we find no evidence that taking paracetamol during pregnancy causes autism in children.

Read more 👉 www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/use-...

Use of paracetamol during pregnancy unchanged in the EU | European Medicines Agency (EMA)

Paracetamol medicines can be used in pregnancy, in accordance with official recommendations

www.ema.europa.eu

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Andy Garrett @andygarrett.bsky.social · 18d

Pay ratio is income.

Andy Garrett @andygarrett.bsky.social · 18d

Don’t disagree, but the 2x council tax on 2nd homes is a wealth tax that already exists that has slipped in under the radar. It is a tax on an asset that takes into account its relative value (via banding) and doubles it on the 2nd (and subsequent) asset, if you have two or more assets.

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Reposted by Andy Garrett

Max Roser @maxroser.bsky.social · 20d

It is September 18.

Today, @hannahritchie.bsky.social's book is out!

www.penguin.co.uk/books/462676...

Clearing the Air

'We urgently need Hannah Ritchie' GUARDIAN 'Essential reading' RUTGER BREGMAN 'Read this book -- now' MARK LYNAS We can’t afford to delay climate action, but with all the shouting and disagreement i...

www.penguin.co.uk

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Reposted by Andy Garrett

Robert Rohde @rarohde.bsky.social · 20d

The Northern Pacific Ocean is currently smashing temperature records.

And it is reaching these levels far earlier than the current generation of climate models had expected.

A short thread 🧵

Time series of monthly Northern Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature anomalies from 1850 to August 2025 alongside multi-model expectations of the warming in this area (scenario SSP2-4.5).

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Andy Garrett @andygarrett.bsky.social · Sep 7

Well it certainly set the dog off.

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Andy Garrett @andygarrett.bsky.social · Sep 7

And since you reference it, I think
@dianecoyle1859.bsky.social work is persuasive. We do need to have reliable core measures, but the world is changing and some of the established measures we have really don’t go back very far. There is a sense that it has always been this way, but it hasn’t.

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Andy Garrett @andygarrett.bsky.social · Sep 7

Nice article. Of course some of the official statistics are based on subjective measures - notably people’s experiences. Crime, labour, migration etc. And it is part of the issue re: falling response rates that undermine the OS. The shift to administrative data was also directed at objectivity.

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Andy Garrett @andygarrett.bsky.social · Sep 6

Can’t see any female band members. Where’s Cilla?

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Reposted by Andy Garrett

Yale Climate Connections @climateconnections.bsky.social · Aug 29

Hurricane Katrina's storm surge was deadly in 2005, and the seas are even higher now, which means similar storms could cause even more damage. Some of the highest rates of local sea level rise in the world are occurring along the Gulf Coast.

Sea level rise, explained » Yale Climate Connections

It’s already straining coastal communities. And it’s set to get worse.

yaleclimateconnections.org

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Reposted by Andy Garrett

Royal Statistical Society @royalstatsoc.bsky.social · Aug 27

Calling all students! Did you know we offer a free e-membership to those studying at A Level and above?

Whether you’re already studying – or starting your A Levels or a degree next month - you can join online now: rss.org.uk/membership/j...

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Andy Garrett @andygarrett.bsky.social · Aug 12

Probably easier to solve climate change first, as at least we know the cause. Was a transformative AI solution mentioned here?

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Andy Garrett @andygarrett.bsky.social · Aug 11

uksa.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/wp-content/u...

Was asked to do this ONS Methodology review back in 2016. Certainly the need to be more flexible on location was a recommendation.

Part of the issue has been implementing various reviews. Funding our core data infrastructure is also an issue.

uksa.statisticsauthority.gov.uk

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Andy Garrett @andygarrett.bsky.social · Aug 2

What remains clear is the national agencies need to be well funded as governments depend on a sound underling data infrastructure. If only some of the AI spare cash was directed to ensuring the core data infrastructure was sound and future proof.

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Andy Garrett @andygarrett.bsky.social · Aug 2

Revisions not uncommon and all national statistical agencies are facing these challenges. Labour Force Survey in the UK is one problematic area that has had recent visibility. The US issue could be due to late surveys from small firms also.

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Andy Garrett @andygarrett.bsky.social · Aug 2

Clearly some text has not aged well. Issues tend to be associated with countries where the data don’t fit the government’s narrative. That being said, employment data have historically come from surveys, not administrative data, and those surveys have become problematic with low response rates.

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