Truth in Data
A practical guide to verifying data
Economic misinformation often starts with a real number stripped of its definition, geography, or denominator.
“New York-area inflation was 4.3% in August 2026.”
Supported as a 12-month CPI-U change for the New York–Newark–Jersey City area.
“Everything got 4.3% more expensive.”
CPI is a weighted average; categories move differently.
“The median household earns $118,596, so most households earn about that.”
The median is the midpoint, not a cluster or average around one exact income.
“Westchester is wealthy, so poverty is basically absent.”
The ACS 2024 1-year profile estimates 8.5% below the poverty line—more than 80,000 residents.
Test a claim
This claim checker can identify several common economic claim patterns and explain what context is missing.
1. Geography
Is the statistic national, state, county, city, or metro?
2. Time
Is it a single year, a five-year estimate, a month, or a year-over-year change?
3. Definition
Household income is not individual salary. CPI is not a price level. Poverty is not income inequality.