If there was a modicum of honesty in the study design, it would have five or so options:

1. Yes, all do

2. Yes, most do, but some don’t

3. Yes, about half do and half don’t

4. Yes, some do, but most don’t

5. No, none ever do

So you can see how misleading a simple “yes/no” can be, and that really puts into perspective why people are taking issue with the murky methodology, and what those who take the bait are really falling for.

Of course, even with more robust multiple choice, there are still many pitfalls, such as:

• Does this include women who lie to hide actual abuse?
• Does this include women who are the abuser in the relationship and lie about it?
• Does it also ask about whether men tell the truth about dv/sa, in cases when they’re the victim or the abuser, and in cases when the allegations are true or frivolous?

And probably more that I haven’t thought of. So there are a lot of variables, and if they only included the one leading question then it’s just ragebait really shouldn’t pass peer review (unless all the reviewers are afraid to critique it!) And the journalists reporting it (coincidentally the authors of the study) are being quite dishonest either way.