A reminder of why you need to check statistics before sharing them

A tweet has been doing the rounds on Twitter which suggests that the suicide rate in the UK since lockdown started has risen by 200%. The BBC’s fact checking service Reality Check has investigated the claim and found that the 200% claim originated in a news report that talked about the increase in calls to a mental health charity since the start of lockdown.

These are two very different things. This is an example of how easy it is to a) take statistics out of context and b) amplify inaccurate claims very quickly on social media.

Always check the source when sharing data.

The person who first tweeted the claim has since posted a link to an ITV News report about a mental health charity warning calls to its helpline had increased by 200% since lockdown
But that’s not the same as “suicide figures” rising by 200%.

— BBC Reality Check (@BBCRealityCheck) June 29, 2020