Thread by @MaxCRoser

That @Worldometers became a data source that the public – and even journalists and presidents – trusted was a disaster within a disaster.

CNN now investigated their work and who they are (in case anyone still thinks it is reasonable to rely on them) edition.cnn.com/interactive/20…

For weeks we got questions like ‘Why don’t you yet report X?! – @Worldometer already published that data!’

And as soon as we looked into it, it was some unsourced "data" that turned out to be incorrect.

It is obvious for anyone who bothers to follow up any of the "data" on @Worldometers that they lack any respect for their readers.

Worldometer's readers who want to learn what is currently happening were instead getting misinformed by them.

And researchers wasted their energy battling the constant barrage of Worldometer misinformation.

That's energy that could have been spent in much more useful ways during an urgent pandemic.

Here is my thread from more than a month ago; none of the errors were corrected since. And no one got in touch with me.

https://twitter.com/MaxCRoser/status/1248585604809490432

No one of the Worldometers team responded to the CNN reporters either.

@Worldometer does not even care about being wrong.

Being wrong can happen to any data provider.

The problem is that they are wrong and don't correct.
And that they don't provide sources that would anyone allow to see where they made a mistake.

You can try it out yourself.

Try to figure out where the data on testing comes from.
worldometers.info/coronavirus/

And then have a look how we do it.
ourworldindata.org/coronavirus-te…