BBC More or Less (@BBCMoreOrLess) / X

BBC More or Less

1,011 posts

BBC More or Less

@BBCMoreOrLess

The BBC's More or Less: Tim Harford explains - and sometimes debunks - the numbers and statistics used in political debate, the news, and everyday life.

bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00…

Joined August 2011

BBC More or Less
@BBCMoreOrLess
Apr 22, 2024
Did @thecassreview - the review of NHS gender identity services for under-18s in England - throw out 98% of the available research? That claim was spreading online before the report was even published. It is “completely incorrect” says @Hilary_Cass A More or Less thread.🧵1/8
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BBC More or Less
@BBCMoreOrLess
Mar 2, 2023
You may have seen a version of this tweet, which seems to claim that energy costs in the UK are many times more expensive than the rest of Europe - over four times as much as the next two countries, Belgium and France. Here’s why that tweet is wildly misleading. A thread 🧵1/10
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BBC More or Less
@BBCMoreOrLess
Apr 22, 2024
Replying to @BBCMoreOrLess
Dr Cass told us she was “angry” that misinformation was spreading about the review. "Adults who deliberately spread misinformation about this topic are putting young people at risk, and in my view that is unforgivable." 5/8
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BBC More or Less
@BBCMoreOrLess
Sep 26, 2023
Have the Conservatives built social housing in ‘record numbers’, as has been claimed? A More or Less thread. 🧵1/9
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BBC More or Less
@BBCMoreOrLess
Apr 22, 2024
Replying to @BBCMoreOrLess
Cass: "I certainly wouldn't want to embark on a treatment where somebody couldn't tell me with any accuracy what percentage chance there was of it being successful, and what the possibilities were of harms or side effects." 8/8
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BBC More or Less
@BBCMoreOrLess
Jan 20, 2021
By popular demand, here's our sea shanty on some fishy figures...
BBC Radio 4
00:00
BBC Radio 4
BBC More or Less
@BBCMoreOrLess
Jan 26, 2023
Last week Chancellor Jeremy Hunt sat down with a cup of coffee and pledged to halve inflation - but what does that really mean? Your statistical barista @TimHarford explains... ☕️ 🎧Listen on @BBCSounds: bit.ly/3XTFi6g
00:00
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BBC More or Less
@BBCMoreOrLess
Apr 22, 2024
Replying to @BBCMoreOrLess
Listen to the full programme here:
BBC Radio 4 - More or Less, 98%: Is misinformation being spread about a review of trans youth...
From bbc.co.uk
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BBC More or Less
@BBCMoreOrLess
Apr 22, 2024
Replying to @BBCMoreOrLess
Taken together, they looked at 103 scientific papers. They found only two - or around 2% - were high quality. But they also included the moderate research in their conclusions. 3/8
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BBC More or Less
@BBCMoreOrLess
Apr 22, 2024
Replying to @BBCMoreOrLess
Cass: "But what we need to understand is what's happening to the majority of people who've been through these treatments, and we just don't have that data.” 7/8
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BBC More or Less
@BBCMoreOrLess
Apr 22, 2024
Replying to @BBCMoreOrLess
Around 40% - 43 papers - was considered of low quality, and so was not used to form the systematic reviews' conclusions. 4/8
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BBC More or Less
@BBCMoreOrLess
Apr 22, 2024
Replying to @BBCMoreOrLess
Cass commissioned @UniOfYork to produce systematic reviews to analyse the available research on puberty blockers and hormone treatment. adc.bmj.com/content/early/… adc.bmj.com/content/early/… 2/8
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BBC More or Less
@BBCMoreOrLess
Apr 22, 2024
Replying to @BBCMoreOrLess
Cass: "We're certainly not saying that no-one is going to benefit from these treatments, and I myself have spoken to young people who definitely do appear to have benefited." 6/8
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BBC More or Less
@BBCMoreOrLess
Aug 31, 2022
This week on More or Less, we’ve been digging into the numbers behind rising energy bills. What’s driving the increase in the price cap? Let’s start with the profits made by the people who sell us our energy - the energy suppliers. 1/13