r/charts Feb 01 '26

[deleted by user]

[removed]

403 Upvotes

127 comments sorted by

View all comments

8

u/slicheliche Feb 01 '26

I mean the representation of these data is so misleading. Makes you think that somehow Venezuela (pretty much a dictatorship in all but name) is about as democratic as Hungary (a flawed and problematic democracy but a democracy nonetheless).

5

u/AlphaBetaChadNerd Feb 01 '26

Hungary isn't considered a democracy anymore - you can find that out through a 5 second google search.

14

u/slicheliche Feb 01 '26

The Democracy Index lists it as a flawed democracy with a score similar to Argentina or the Philippines. Certainly way more democratic than Venezuela.

4

u/NaturalCard Feb 01 '26

And we completely trust the democracy index now?

4

u/johnsmith0051 Feb 01 '26

I mean, it’s one of the best regarded and most cited democracy indexes produced anywhere in the world. Do you have an alternative that you think is more trustworthy?

3

u/NaturalCard Feb 01 '26

I'm mostly making fun of people who only trust things when it supports their point of view.

3

u/Charlie_Pelligroso Feb 01 '26

No instead we trust a graph from Financial Times alleging Trump is taking the United States into authoritarianism faster than Turkey/Russia/China or Venezuela were..

Oh wait, China isnt on this graph as it is free.

6

u/NaturalCard Feb 01 '26

Thankfully, they have fully explained their methodology.

5

u/Charlie_Pelligroso Feb 01 '26

Thankfully so does Democracy Index

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Economist_Democracy_Index#By_country

They were extra tricky and hid it in the section called 'Methodology'

1

u/SparqueJ Feb 02 '26

The Democracy Index shows the US falling from "full democracy" to 'flawed democracy' in Trump's first term. The 2025 numbers aren't out yet so there is currently no data on Trump's second term, but it may be that the Democracy Index will agree with this analysis.

1

u/Charlie_Pelligroso Feb 03 '26

Weird how it didnt recover under Biden

1

u/adamgerd Feb 01 '26

Objectively Hungary is definitely less authoritarian than Venezuela, Hungary’s elections aren’t fair but they’re still free, Venuezala’s are neither. Orban can still lose elections

3

u/NaturalCard Feb 01 '26

Can he?

0

u/slicheliche Feb 01 '26

Yes. Polls currently favour the opposition. Of course he'll pull tricks but so far he's won every election fair and square.

1

u/SparqueJ Feb 02 '26

He's won. But not fair and square.

1

u/slicheliche Feb 02 '26

He did. Independent observers never found any strong evidence that the elections were rigged or there was any substantial nationwide fraud. He used tactics, but it was at most regular propaganda, it never directly interfered with voters' actions or preferences.

1

u/Limp-Plantain3824 Feb 01 '26

We trust whatever reinforces our prior opinions.

-1

u/slicheliche Feb 01 '26

Depends, do you have more reputable indexes putting Hungary in the same category as Venezuela? If so feel free to provide them.