Another type of data manipulation is using percentage values instead of absolute values to “cloud” the truth.
Imagine a new company with few customers and limited orders. To attract potential buyers, we can present ourselves alongside the most established players in the industry by using data in terms of percentages. The actual number of products sold (as shown in the first graph) may not be as persuasive to a potential client as presenting the same data as a percentage of all orders (as shown in the second graph). From this perspective, our company even appears to perform better than the competition in terms of the product B.
Difficult to spot, but if in doubt ask for absolute values!
Happy presenting
