Informational pattern

Baseline choice

A claim becomes stronger or weaker depending on which comparison, denominator, gross figure, or starting value is selected.

The diagnostic question

Which alternative baseline answers the reader's actual question?

What to look for

Gross and net quantities are blurred
The comparison group is unstated
An official number is used to support a different inference

See it in context

Public analyses using this lens

The 2016 Brexit referendum

Did Britain send £350 million a week to the EU?

Not as an actual net weekly payment. The headline used a gross assessment before the rebate and ignored money returning to the UK, so the full amount was never freely available to redirect.

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