Fact-checking: Manila’s ‘quality of life’ index

SEVERAL netizens posted ( and shared) a week ago a picture of a busy street in Manila with the caption “Lowest Quality of Life” and an accompanying brief description that “the top 3 cities with the lowest quality of life are Lagos ( Nigeria), Beijing ( China) and Manila ( Philippines), according to research from Deutsche Bank.”

Is this current? Is this true in the first place? Well, there is only one thing to do — fact- check it.

What is fact- checking?

Rappler’s civic engagement arm MovePH had been hosting a series of factchecking webinars since the onset of the Covid- 19 pandemic.

According to Rappler, “spreading unverified information, especially exaggerated claims and warnings, only causes unnecessary panic. It could harm lives and impede — or worse, jeopardize — the response of government and private sectors. Chain messages, in particular, spread like wildfire in times of disasters. These are urgent messages that aim to convince the recipient to pass them on to others.”

It added that some of those who receive chain mails might believe it’s better to be safe than sorry and just pass the message on, hoping that it would help others. But that’s precisely where the HARM COMES FROM — UNVERIfiED INFORMAtion can cause more damage than good.

Fact- checking is done by finding proof as to the accuracy of the subject posting. First thing to do is to look for the primary source ( not just the post of anybody, especially if it was merely forwarded or passed on). Examples of primary sources are the original research, datasets and survey data. Also considered primary sources are the text of the laws, official press statements and original documents. Authentic photographs, video, or audio that captures the event are also primary sources.

An important step in fact- checking is to find corroborating evidence that would support the veracity of the source. One can always use available online tools or apps for authentication. These include Google Image Search, InVid for video verification, Web Archive and geolocation tools, among others.

Fact- checking ‘ Lowest Quality of Life’

It turned out that the image post description came from a one- year- old article of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The newspaper published on Oct. 7, 2019 an article titled “Manila is 3rd among 56 cities with lowest quality of life.” It reported:

“Manila ranked poorly at third place among 56 cities worldwide with the lowest quality of life, research published by Deutsche Bank has shown. Based on its May 2019 report, Deutsche Bank said the top three cities with the lowest quality of life were Lagos, Nigeria; Beijing, China; and Manila, Philippines.”

The Inquirer publication cannot be considered the primary source since it purely relied on a supposed Deutsche Bank report. Thus, my next step is to search for the primary source, which is the Deutsche Bank report, if there is actually one.

I found that the rankings were part of a research paper published by Deutsche Bank on May 19, 2019 with the title “Mapping the World’s Prices 2019.” The quality- of- life index is part of its Table of Exhibits.

Zurich ( Switzerland), Wellington ( New Zealand) and Copenhagen ( Denmark) top the best list of the 56 cities surveyed. True enough, Manila ( Philippines) is number 54, edging out only Beijing ( China) in 55th and Lagos ( Nigeria) in 56th places.

But wait, there is another source attributed to by the report — www. numbeo. com.

Numbeo. com

According to its website, Numbeo.com was launched in April 2009. The research and available data at Numbeo.com are NOT INflUENCED BY ANY GOVERNMENTAL ORganization. Their website was mentioned or used as a source by many international newspapers and magazines including BBC, Time, The Week, Forbes, The Economist, Business Insider, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Times, The Telegraph, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, China Daily, The Washington Post, USA Today and dozens more.

That seems to be legitimate and reliABLE. I AM SATISfiED THAT THE NUMBERS AND data in their website are trustworthy.

There is a current report on the Quality of Life Index as of mid- year of 2020. This shows that the mentioned posting done on social media, which led me to fact- check, is dated.

The latest Quality of Life Index shows Adelaide, Australia to have the best quality- of- life index ( 205.92). It is followed by Canberra, Australia ( 205.60) and Raleigh, North Carolina, United States ( 203.16) is in third spot.

Zurich, the topnotcher in 2019 is now in fifth place ( 198.30) while Wellington is fourth place ( 201.21). Third placer Copenhagen in 2019 is in the 18th place ( 185.63) for midyear 2020.

What about the Philippines? The Philippines is no longer in 54th place because there are now 249 cities included in the research for the current Quality of Life Index. Manila, Philippines is now on the bottom of the list at number 249 ( index of 45.53 as compared to 205.92 of Adelaide).

Yes, Manila is 249th out of 249 cities. This is a sad realization, but at least we uncovered the truth.

I will discuss the other details of the mid- year 2020 report next week.

See what fact- checking can do? Don’t just forward or pass on social media posts. Fact- check them first.

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