80% of people think poverty is getting worse, whereas it has actually been reduced 50% in the last 20 years.

There are two parts: (a) about 80% of people believe poverty is getting worse; (b) poverty was cut by about 50% over roughly the 20 years before 2024. For (a), look for a survey of the general public (multi-country or a major national poll, e.g. the Gapminder/Ipsos or YouGov work on global poverty perceptions) in which roughly 70–90% say poverty is rising or worsening. For (b), use standard data (World Bank extreme-poverty figures, Our World in Data) showing the share or number of people in poverty fell by roughly 40–60% over about 2000–2024. Rough figures are fine because the claim uses them. True: both parts hold within those bands. Mostly true: both are broadly right, but one figure falls a little outside its band (e.g. 65% of people, or a fall of 35–40% or 60–70%), or the survey question was about global poverty and not just 'poverty'. Mixed: one part holds and the other is clearly wrong. Mostly false: both are distorted, e.g. the perception figure comes from a single narrow poll that is quoted far beyond what it covered, and the fall in poverty is much smaller or covers a very different period. False: surveys show most people do not think poverty is getting worse, and poverty did not fall by anything near half.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Most of us are wrong about how the world has changed — especially those who are pessimistic about the future Our World in Data (Max Roser) · 27 July 2018

   “The majority of people – 52% – believe that the share of people in extreme poverty is rising. The opposite is true.”

2. E2 Most of us are wrong about how the world has changed — especially those who are pessimistic about the future Our World in Data (Max Roser) · 27 July 2018

   “The opinion research organization Ipsos MORI conducted a detailed survey of 26,489 people across 28 countries, which gives us an answer.”

3. E3 Ending Poverty for Half the World Could Take More Than a Century World Bank · 15 October 2024

   “The number of people living under this poverty line has barely changed since 1990 due to population growth.”

4. E4 Most of us are wrong about how the world has changed — especially those who are pessimistic about the future Our World in Data (Max Roser) · 27 July 2018

   “In fact, the share of people living in extreme poverty across the world has been declining for two centuries and in the last 20 years this positive development has been faster than ever before”

The evidence puts the perception figure at 52% [E1], which is outside the band for part (a). For part (b), it says only that extreme poverty has fallen faster than ever over the last 20 years, with no size given [E4], and that the number under an unnamed line has barely changed [E3]. So it does not show whether poverty fell by roughly 40–60%, and a mixed verdict needs that part to hold.