Correcting the BBC's misinformation about IQ

Nobody is claiming Africans have IQs in the 20s and 30s.

Written by Noah Carl.

More or Less is a usually-excellent BBC radio program dealing with numbers in the news. The creators basically fact-check popular statistical claims, often by consulting relevant experts. They’ve tackled questions like “Is a third of Pakistan really under water?” and “Will it take 685 years to clear the NHS waiting list?”

Recently, they did an episode on “IQ maps”, and it went pretty much as you’d expect based on the media’s typical handling of such topics. In other words, it was atrocious.