"In 1937, Joseph Stalin commissioned a sweeping census of the Soviet Union. The data reflected some uncomfortable facts in particular, the dampening of population growth in areas devastated by the 1933 famine and so Stalin's government suppressed the release of the survey results. Several high-level government statistical workers responsible for the census were subsequently imprisoned and apparently executed. Though the Soviet authorities would proudly trumpet national statistics that glorified the USSR's achievements, any numbers that did not fit the preferred narrative were buried."
"A few weeks ago, following the release of disappointing jobs data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Donald Trump fired the commissioner of labor statistics, Dr Erika McEntarfer, and claimed the numbers were rigged. He also announced his intention to commission an unprecedented off-schedule census of the US population (these happen every 10 years and the next one should be in 2030) with an emphasis that this census will not count illegal immigrants."
Historic and contemporary examples show political actors suppressing or contesting official statistics to shape power. In 1937 Soviet census data revealed reduced population growth in famine-hit regions; authorities suppressed results and punished census officials. Recent U.S. actions include the firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner after disappointing jobs data, a proposed off‑schedule census excluding undocumented immigrants potentially aimed at reapportionment before 2026, and reported removal or revision of climate and public‑health data. The Justice Department opened an investigation into alleged manipulation of 2024 DC violent‑crime declines. These actions raise concerns about data integrity and political manipulation of statistics.
#census-manipulation #data-suppression #political-interference #crime-statistics #climate-and-public-health-data
Read at www.theguardian.com
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