Say where every figure comes from
In a press release or position paper, a figure without a source is easy to dismiss. Here is how to show where each figure comes from and how reliable it is.
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A strong figure makes a press release stand out. But if a journalist cannot check it, they will not use it. Sometimes they go looking themselves and turn up a different number. Position papers work the same way. A policymaker will only quote a figure if it is clear where it comes from. With the source alongside, a reader can use your figure with confidence.
We try to stick to one rule ourselves: say where it comes from. We do not always manage. In practice it goes wrong all the time. A figure starts life in an old report. It gets copied into a slide deck. A year later it turns up in a press release, and by then nobody remembers who measured it. We watched this happen with a figure of 500 energy hubs. It simply took on a life of its own, and nobody could check where it had come from.
So for every figure, start with a few questions. Who measured or counted it, and when? How was it measured, and what does it include or leave out? A figure without a source is like a quote without a name. A journalist does not ring about it, they cut it. A figure about participants also means little if you do not know who counts as a participant. Write the answers in a short source line under the figure, or in a footnote.
Say how reliable the figure is, too. A number someone actually counted is not the same as an estimate. And an estimate is not the same as an assumption nobody has tested. You do not need technical terms. Simply write counted, estimated or assumed, with a few words on how.
Sometimes a figure is out of date, or a group is missing from it. Say so. An older figure can still be useful, as long as readers know which year it comes from. They can weigh your figures better when they can also see what is missing.
Working for a client, or for the members of a coalition? Ask for the source as soon as a figure lands on your desk. That is far easier to sort out at the start. Chasing it later is hard, especially once a journalist has called.
AI assistants read your texts too. If the source sits right next to the figure, they can pass it on along with the number.
