EAS Field Notes // Public Numbers

BLOCKING ME
DOESN'T CHANGE THE NUMBERS.

This is not a private investigation. It is not hacking. It is not inside information. It is the oldest kind of accountability there is: look at what was published, do the math, and ask the person being paid to explain the result.

First: don't call me.

Call the event or marketing person you're paying.

I'm showing public information and asking ordinary business questions about it. If you're paying someone for visibility, promotion, sponsorship, attendance, reach or marketing, that person should be able to explain the numbers.

What did we spend? What did we receive? How many people saw it? How many acted? What can we actually measure?

Those are not hostile questions. Those are buyer questions.

Public numbers are public numbers.

If an organization publishes prices, sponsorship levels, attendance claims, marketing promises, schedules, directories, social activity or other public-facing information, people can look at it, compare it and ask whether the story makes sense.

My conclusion does not become automatically correct because I did the math. Their conclusion does not become automatically correct because they dislike the question.

Show the source. Show the calculation. Let people decide.

Blocking somebody is moderation. It is not a rebuttal.

A private organization or private social-media account can generally moderate its own page. Fine. Block me. Delete me. Don't invite me to lunch.

But none of that changes a public webpage, a published price, a screenshot, a public filing, or basic arithmetic.

If the underlying information is wrong, correct it. If my math is wrong, show the better math. If there's context I missed, publish the context.

“We blocked him” answers a social-media problem. It does not answer a numbers problem.

This is the part people misunderstand about American speech.

The First Amendment restrains government action; it generally does not force a private business or private platform to carry somebody else's speech.

Criticism also does not need an official press badge to become legitimate criticism. Citizens can read public information, document what they observe, publish analysis and ask questions.

FACT CHECK — BILL CLINTON:
Yes, President Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 on February 8, 1996. The Communications Decency Act was part of that law, including the provision now commonly known as Section 230. But that law did not create the First Amendment or “citizen journalism,” and it does not give a user an absolute right to post on somebody else's private platform. YouTube arrived years later.

The standard I'm using is simple.

Is the information public?
Then link it.
Is the number calculated?
Then show the calculation.
Is something unknown?
Say it's unknown.
Is it an opinion?
Label it as opinion.
Can the organization explain it better?
Great. Publish the explanation.

I'm not asking anyone to take my word for it.

That's the whole point.

If you're a business owner spending money on an event, sponsorship or marketing package, ask the person receiving that money to walk you through the performance.

If they have better numbers than the public can see, excellent. Those numbers may completely change the analysis.

If they don't, then you learned something useful before spending the next dollar.

I already looked at the public side. If you want the private answer, don't call me. Call the person you're paying.

Civic duty, ma'am.

I like local businesses. I like local events. I want local organizations to succeed. That does not require pretending every number is good or every marketing claim makes sense.

Sometimes supporting your town means showing up. Sometimes it means spending money locally. And sometimes it means asking a question nobody wants to answer.

That's not an attack. That's accountability.

And where I come from, if you're going to wear the hat, you ought to be willing to check the fence.

Just doing my civic duty, ma'am.
That's what cowboys do.

— Capt

Editorial note: This article discusses analysis of publicly available information and general principles of speech and accountability. It does not allege criminal conduct, fraud or legal wrongdoing by any person or organization. A numerical inconsistency or unanswered question is not proof of misconduct.

SHOW THE NUMBERS.

Good marketing can survive questions. Good organizations can explain their work. Good numbers don't need protection from arithmetic.

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