What Americans die from vs. what's reported in the media
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What Americans die from vs. what's reported in the media
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata
I wanted to track this down (no link in original post I can find)... and here it is.
Note graphic was cropped, leaving out #WaPo and #FoxNews. Not sure why, maybe viewed on small screen? That would explain "swipe" mention.
👉 Reposting the full link because I think the information is important! 👈
#Misinformation #Disinformation Broken #MainstreamMedia #NYTimes
https://ourworldindata.org/does-the-news-reflect-what-we-die-from
@infobeautiful Saving this image to my phone so I don’t have to talk to people who scream about crime & terrorism being the worst scourges in the US. I will show this picture and say, “So what about heart disease?”
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata - I have, many more times than once, explained to foreigners on-line who are afraid to visit the United States because they think they'll be murdered in a mass shooting that: I'm over 50 years old and have never been shot or shot at, don't know anyone who has, and have never observed anyone being shot or shot at, and that the very overwhelming majority of gun deaths are suicides. But hey if they want to believe the media over facts they can look up, it's on them.
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata
the COVID stats are not reflecting reality
many more continue to die in the ongoing COVID pandemic. often the deaths are described as natural causes or death after a brief or extended illness (Long COVID)
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata Many Americans die from not being able to afford privatised healthcare!!! Let that be a warning to the UK! PEOPLE WITH MED CONDITIONS DON'T VOTE REFORM!! #uninsurable
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata more people die every year from falling over in their bath than from terrorism. But start putting cameras in bathrooms and nobody wants to talk about the security aspect.
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata lol, should they tell us about every single person who died of a heart attack or cancer? Of course they focus on non-natural death causes.
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata Heart disease isn't sexy
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata Heart disease doesn't generate clicks.
@infobeautiful 1% of the people getting 60% of the attention, you say?
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata Can you differentiate between "domestic homicide" and "femicide" when discussing homicide offenses? Or is femicide not a recognized crime in the US?
RE: https://mastodon.social/@filiph/115332196437726090
@infobeautiful please edit your post to include the source page.
The source was in this post from @filiph :
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata y are whites easily affected by heart disease and strokes the last time I took a trip to Africa i saw someone with heart diseases it was called an abomination there
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata
No reports (or data collection?) for climate change - floods, fires, heat stroke, cold. Watch this space!
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata
A Fox News column would have a 66% "wokeness" band. 🙄
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata Suicide goes up with newspaper coverage so Nytimes can be added to the list of causes of death.
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata @franceinfo
Peut-on avoir la même analyse en France. Media publique versus Bolloré group. #FranceInfo
This is why I always tell people to follow the data, not the headlines
Media optimizes for clicks and emotional reactions. Reality optimizes for... reality
The gap between what we THINK kills people and what ACTUALLY kills people explains so much about how we allocate resources, funding, and attention as a society
Heart disease quietly takes out more people than anything on the front page, but it does not generate engagement so it stays invisible
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata
How very clever. You are comparing apples to herrings.
If somebody dies from illness in their own or hospital bed, it very seldom is news. Usually no need to be.
If somebody is killed in a terrorism act or murdered, it normally is news. And for a reason.
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata
How many deaths 2025 are caused by diseases for which vaccines exist?
@infobeautiful diabetes is that low? Damn, that's impressive for the worst food on earth.
Jokes aside they talk that much about homicide but how many times is it to ban guns?
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata
Better be prepared for MAHA and the anti-vaxxers to warp coverage even further from reality.
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata the media is only reporting, “if it bleeds it leads”.
The data is from 2023, which was during Biden. With the pressure of the #Trump administration in 2025, I imagine the current data to be even more divergent. 🌸
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata
Of course! And besides the terrorism and homicides the only time the media reports cancer, overdoses, heart disease, etc., is when it happens to a celebrity or other well known person.
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata
Sensation sells…
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata That's the press for you - all sensation and zero truth - or - "keep the peasants distracted while we rob them'...
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata The reporting possibly depends on who the problems affected?
My mom dying of cancer vs anyone who might normally be in the news.
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata I get what this is saying, but isnt this the old "man bites dog" issue?
Of course the media will report sensational, extraordinary things. This is what people want to hear about.
It's also easier when there are clear villains and victims, and not something abstract like economic forces, infrastructure, or lifestyle.
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata
does the NYT mostly mirror other outlets that most people get their news from? living near Chicago, I mostly hear about crime from other sources.
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata
Wonderful. "Draw me a picture of NYTimes propaganda"
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata Does the media really expect us to believe that 18% of deaths in the United States are the result of terrorism? Seriously?
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata very unbalanced, isn't it? Thank you for pointing it out in graphics. It's amazing, how false media prioritizes.
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata Gotta keep 'em in fear of others! Frightened people are easily manipulated.
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata
So:
Eat too much.
Don't exercise enough.
Too much ultra processed food, chemicals and pesticides.
What are the causes of the 7.8% Accidents?
How much on the road, power tools, weapons or other?
@infobeautiful @ourworldindata why is COVID 2.2% listed below suicide 2.1% ?