Wokeness is a problem in the United States.Specifically, it is argued, Americans are not nearly woke enough.And this lack of wokeness could be our undoing.Widespread social misbeliefs are not just dangerous for the people being misunderstood, they put everyone at risk, undermining public health, education, economic progress, and democracy itself.These distortions can be small and odd (e.g.questionable hygiene choices) or big and dangerous (e.g.vaccine skepticism, gun violence, systemic inequality, rising fascism).In this context, woke dataviz is not simply a question of ethics or social justice, it is a matter of self-preservation.The way we visualize others can reinforce the harmful misbeliefs that put us all at risk.For example, bar charts of social disparities can subtly misdirect blame and promote harmful stereotypes.On the other hand, more transparent, expressive visualizations can interrupt
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Eli Holder (2025) studied this question.
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