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"False Accusations" v. "False Reports"

On Monday I posted an infographic purporting to show the ratio of false rape accusations to actual rapes. Yesterday, Amanda Marcotte of XX Factor debunked several of its claims and the rationale by which its creators arrived at their conclusions.

I agree with her reasoning, so it does seem like the infographic is misleading and could be greatly improved. But, as Marcotte says, the fundamental message remains true:

It is true that most rapes go unreported, that the public believes false accusations are exponentially more common than they actually are, and that a man’s chances of being falsely accused of rape are incredibly small. All these things are important to convey, and an infographic is a great way to do it. Just fix the graphic, and the public will learn a lot.

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