A session designed to look at the impact that false facts have on public trust in official statistics.  In a world of instant media, with low standards of propriety, anyone can make statements which appear to be based on evidence, but may not be.  These compete with soundly based statistics – both official and non-official – and it can be difficult for those who need to make decisions, governments, businesses and citizens, to know which ‘facts’ to trust.

Recent years have seen the growth of fact checking bodies, but this session aims to explore what more can be done to support good decision making.

The session will include a tribute to Tim Holt, and then 5 min opening statements followed by a panel discussion.

Among the questions to be considered are:

• How should the role of national statistics offices change to meet these challenges? Where is there good practice?
• To what extent does the move towards model-based estimates undermine confidence in statistics?
• How can we improve the statistical literacy of governments, businesses and citizens?
• Is there any role for greater regulation? What can be done internationally?

Organiser: Mr Stephen Penneck 

Chair: Mr Stephen Penneck 

Speaker: Len Cook

Speaker: Anil Arora 

Speaker: Lidija Brkovic 

Speaker: Gary Dunnet

Speaker: Dr Stephen MacFeely