Charts That Show the Story and Prove It
Charts That Show the Story and Prove It
Every Thursday morning, I get an email with one chart. Sometimes it’s a map. Sometimes it’s a table. But it’s always the same thing: a visualization that shows the story and backs it up with data.
This is Datawrapper’s Weekly Chart, and it’s one of the few things I consistently read.
What Makes These Charts Different
Most charts I see online are decoration. They’re there to make an article look professional or to fill space between paragraphs.
Datawrapper’s Weekly Charts are the opposite. The chart IS the story.
One week, they showed English proficiency levels across European countries. The pattern jumped out immediately—you didn’t need to read paragraphs of analysis to understand what was happening.
Another week, they demonstrated how to visualize different time scales—years, months, days, and hours—in a single chart. The data was complex, but the chart made it crystal clear.
The charts don’t just claim something is true. They show you why it’s true. The evidence is right there in the visualization.
Why This Matters
I realized something after reading these charts for a while: I’d been making claims without evidence my entire life.
“Traffic is getting worse.” “Winters are warmer than they used to be.” “This restaurant’s quality declined.”
How did I know? I didn’t. I just felt it.
These weekly charts remind me that feelings aren’t facts. Every Thursday, I see someone who actually gathered data, analyzed it, and presented it clearly. No guessing. No opinions. Just evidence.
And that evidence tells a story far more convincing than any opinion piece could.
What You Actually Get
When you subscribe to Weekly Charts:
- One visualization every Thursday—a chart, map, or table
- Real data from the Datawrapper team’s research
- Clear presentation where the pattern is impossible to miss
- The story shown visually, not buried in text
It’s been running for years. They’ve published over 300 weekly charts. That’s over 300 examples of how to present information so clearly that the truth becomes obvious.
The Lesson I Took Away
These charts changed how I think about making claims.
Now, when I catch myself saying “it seems like…” or “I feel like…” I stop. Do I have evidence? Or am I just trusting my biased memory?
Just like I discovered with my weather perception—I was absolutely certain 2025 was cloudier than usual. The data proved I was completely wrong.
The Weekly Charts are a weekly reminder: you can show your work. You can find data. You can present it clearly. And when you do, you create something far more valuable than another hot take.
Try It For Yourself
If you’re interested in seeing what evidence actually looks like when it’s presented well, subscribe to Datawrapper’s Weekly Chart.
One email every Thursday. One visualization. No noise.
Just charts that show the story and prove it.
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