Misleading Charts & How to Avoid Them

Summary

Truncated y-axes, cherry-picked date ranges, and inconsistent scales can make a chart technically accurate but practically deceptive — recognizing these patterns protects your own credibility.

• 1Find (or recall) a real example of a misleading chart from media or a report.
• 2Practice explaining exactly why it's misleading, not just that it 'feels off'.
• 3Audit your own recent charts for a truncated axis or cherry-picked range.