Robert GrahamThe following content is sponsored by PragerU.
One year ago, the FBI released a data report claiming violent crime had fallen by 2.1 percent in 2022 compared to 2021, and major media outlets quickly celebrated and cited the news. Despite communities experiencing surging violence, Orwellian politicians and pundits used this data as their go-to “fact-check,” insisting that our fears are unfounded and repeatedly reassuring us that crime is actually down. It has been the perfect pre-election talking point for those eager to dismiss concerns about rising crime across America.
But in a not-so-shocking turn, the FBI quietly revised those statistics, admitting that their initial data were incomplete and misleading. It turns out that violent crime isn’t down—it’s up. A whopping 6.6 percent upward shift from their previous claims, some 80,029 violent crimes were mysteriously absent from the initial data. While these massive revisions are validating to those who have been silenced and fact-checked, they are also rather insulting.
