Why Trump’s undermining of US statistics is so dangerous | Daniel Malinsky

The article discusses the Trump administration's attempts to undermine and manipulate U.S. government statistics, which the author sees as a dangerous trend that serves to entrench authoritarianism. Key points include: - The firing of the labor statistics chief and Trump's claims that jobs data was "rigged" after the release of "disappointing" data. - Plans for an unprecedented off-schedule census focused on not counting illegal immigrants, likely aimed at reapportioning congressional seats to favor Republicans. - The administration's efforts to "update" the National Climate Assessments and the disappearance of important data sources on climate and public health. - An investigation into the DC Metropolitan Police's crime statistics, alleging the decline in violent crime rates was due to falsified or manipulated data. The author draws parallels to the Soviet Union's suppression of unfavorable census data and statistics, warning that this pattern serves to undermine public trust in government data and entrench authoritarianism.