Greetings, djw, and welcome. You said:

<<The Truth may not be out there in data.>>

And that's a distinct possibility. There are many ways to gather, count and report. In doing so, variations will enter into the equation. Thus, we can legitimately disagree as to what those data mean. That's why I find unattributed and unsourced data the most troublesome. There's no way to verify it is correct or even reasonably accurate.

Regards..Pixy