Correlation between BSE/CJD and Brexit vote

Question

This image is currently doing the rounds on social media:

The implications and associated text with it is usually around how uncanny (and amusing) the correlation is. What's the source of this data and is it actually accurate or a fake?

EDIT: Here is a better-quality picture taken from a more recent post.

It's pretty obviously a recolouring of the referendum map to make a joke about correlation not implying causality. The joke works because you'd expect a correlation (both BSE and Leave-voting tended to be more common in rural areas) but not the implied "mad" causality... It's obviously not a real BSE map: it depicts higher BSE in (Leave-supporting) former-industrial conurbations like those around Sunderland and Wolverhampton than in (Remain-supporting) rural farming areas like the Scottish lowlands, the Cotswolds, and Northern Irish borderlands — user56reinstatemonica8, Sep 17 '18 at 19:19
From the context where I first saw this the point intended was a topical humorous illustration of "correlation≠causation" not a substantive point making a real claim. — matt_black, Sep 18 '18 at 10:56
And the map doesn't look like other maps of the BSE prevalence in the UK like the one in [this paper](http://molecular-pathological-epidemiology.imedpub.com/cwd-tuberculosis-found-in-spongiformdisease-formerly-attributed-to-prions-itsimplication-towards-mad-cow-diseasescrapie-and-alzhei.php?aid=19116) — matt_black, Sep 18 '18 at 11:04
I can't make out the labels in the key. Is there a better image? — , Sep 18 '18 at 20:12

score 26 · Accepted Answer · edited Sep 18 '18 at 13:09

The data is fake, the original was intended to be humorous not realistic

The context of the original post clearly indicates that the intent was a humorous illustration of the point that correlation doesn't equal causation.

The Snopes analysis shows that the BSE map is a fake created by altering the referendum map. The Snopes comparison of the maps is convincing: .

Moreover, other maps of the prevalence of BSE in the original outbreak look very different. This paper, for example, shows the map below (left hand map is BSE prevalence):

The two maps are very different (not least in Scotland) in detail. The differences are too large for the supposed 1992 map to be realistic however redrawn.

I think we can conclude that this was never intended to be a serious point merely a faked humorous illustration.

Correlation between BSE/CJD and Brexit vote

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