Amr El Iraqi’s Book Puts AI and Journalists’ Use of Data Under Scrutiny

Amr El Iraqi’s book “When Journalists Converse With Data” raises a central question for journalism: how can a number be accurate while the news report built around it leads readers to a mistaken understanding?

The question draws attention to the gap between numerical accuracy and sound interpretation. Checking a figure is one task; examining whether it supports the story being told is another.

The book also poses a practical dilemma: what should a journalist do when the data they need cannot be found? That question places the limits of available evidence alongside the challenge of interpreting it.

With artificial intelligence part of the discussion, the focus is on the journalist’s encounter with numbers—not simply as facts to reproduce, but as evidence to question before drawing conclusions.