NDTV journalist Nidhi shows lack of statistical understanding, gets mocked

NDTV Executive Editor, Nidhi Razdan

Pew Research Centre, one of the leading think tanks based in the US, yesterday released a survey result, which showed widespread support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India and that the nation seemed to be doing increasingly well under the leadership of Modi. The survey stated that Indians were very upbeat about Modi, the economy and India’s direction.

The findings were part of a Pew Research Center survey conducted among 2,464 respondents in India from 21st February to 10th March, 2017, few months after the demonetisation, one of the major economic reforms undertaken by Narendra Modi.

The same was shared by BJP social media head Amit Malviya on Twitter, and since it portrays the Modi government in positive light, NDTV’s Nidhi Razdan could not digest it. She quickly proceeded to mock Malviya and Pew Research.

https://twitter.com/Nidhi/status/931021855577829376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Nidhi was called out for her lack of statistical understanding that the sample size was perfectly acceptable, and the survey is also conducted by a reputed organisation, not random online surveys.

https://twitter.com/rishibagree/status/931044854435495936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Twitter users even took a dig at NDTV, her employers.

https://twitter.com/MangoAdami/status/931037569256644608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/ramprasad_c/status/931036547465596929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/ravithinkz/status/931038616985387008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Incidentally, Derek O’brien, who is best known for defaming private citizens in Parliament, also tried to deride the survey.

https://twitter.com/quizderek/status/931027532824027137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
As someone who grew up watching his quiz shows, a part of my childhood died on seeing this blatant display of bigotry.

However, when Nidhi got called out for her failure to comprehend how statistics work, she shifted her goalposts.

https://twitter.com/Nidhi/status/931042515922374656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Nidhi’s lack of comprehension skills aside, the sample size by Pew Research Centre is perfectly valid.

As per widely accepted sample size calculators, this is a perfectly valid sample size.

But then, why let facts come in way of propaganda? Perhaps if Nidhi distrusts the survey so much, perhaps she should ask her employers to not run as many as three stories on the same survey. [1],[2],[3]

OpIndia Staff: Staff reporter at OpIndia