The technique involves highlighting data that backs a particular claim while omitting significant evidence that contradicts it, PAP said as part of its "sprawdzam.to" series examining disinformation methods.
Canada's McGill University cited a 2020 example involving then-U.S. President Donald Trump, who argued the United States was handling the COVID-19 pandemic well because the disease's death rate had declined. The university said Trump omitted that the country was simultaneously recording near-record numbers of positive coronavirus tests almost daily.
In 2022, Poland's NASK research institute, in a Facebook post, highlighted a case of cherry-picking involving manipulated headlines from global media coverage of Ukraine before and after the outbreak of war. NASK said the author of the misleading post selected headlines while stripping away their publication dates and context.
Cherry-picking is not always used deliberately, but it can mislead audiences and reinforce their existing biases, PAP said. To avoid falling victim to the technique, it recommended verifying information across multiple independent sources.
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Source: PAP