Statistics and probability are amazing tools. But, like all tools, they can be manipulated for malicious purposes.
I am especially wary of the way news is presented on TV. It seems like these shows naturally gravitate towards emotional stories that are designed to scare or outrage you. These shows are rarely lying. Rather, they are doing something far more pernicious. They are taking something that has a grain of truth and turning it into something completely unrecognizable.
One example is with scientific data. There may be a study that shows that a certain behavior may cause the rate of cancer to go from one in a million to two in a million. When you say it that way, it still seems like a nearly infinitesimal chance that it will affect the life of the average person. Yet that same news presented on a cable news show would likely shout out "Are you in danger of doubling your cancer risk? Find out at 11!"
I thought this cartoon did a good job of showing how things get twisted. It's almost like the scientific community is battling a bad case of the "telephone" game.
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