It’s not just promotional literature that can provide misleading information. It can even come from scientific publications, as in this example from the Journal of Environmental Quality
by KEITH REID
In January I wrote about some of the things you have to watch for in promotional literature to avoid being misled. I had fully intended to expand on the theme in this column by creating a misleading advertisement of my own, and then showing how I had tried to fool you.
I may save that idea for a future column, for I found I didn’t have to make anything up this month. I was handed an example of dubious claims and misleading use of statistics on a platter – not in a product pamphlet, but in peer-reviewed scientific literature.