That was the headline of the Washington Post story, which is designed to make you think that gun-related deaths are on the rise. In reality, traffic-related fatalities have declined, as pointed out by this paragraph in the article:
“The trend was driven largely by the sharp drop in the rate of traffic fatalities, a result of a series of laws and safety measures aimed at making driving safer. Gun homicide rates also have fallen in recent years, but have been offset by the rising prevalence of suicides. Today, suicides account for roughly two out of every three gun deaths.”
And the 2nd paragraph reads, "The trend was driven largely by the sharp drop in the rate of traffic fatalities," https://t.co/Q7sMy5XhNJ
— ldelvalle (@ldelvalle) December 20, 2015
Here is a look at the trend chart included in the story:
Quite a contrast to what one would take away from the headline/tweet.
Such a dishonest way of noting that traffic deaths have fallen. https://t.co/ghr94HHMWU
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) December 20, 2015
@washingtonpost @Carolynyjohnson
Traffic deaths have fallen to the level of gun deaths. Deliberately Misleading Headline.— SoothingDuck (@sttngduck) December 20, 2015
Because both fell but traffic deaths fell by more and WaPo went with a fearmongering headline#savedyouaclick https://t.co/sQ5w432UEE
— Jon Ireland (@jrireland1) December 20, 2015
The headline could have read like this:
FIFY: Finally, cars are as safe as guns. https://t.co/tVSu5JWWVh
— Roger (@Roger247) December 20, 2015
But then it would not have had the effect the Post was intending, nor would it have fit their agenda.
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