Distorting map projection

A projection that makes some places look far bigger than they are.

What it looks like

A world map in Mercator (or another non-equal-area projection) used for comparing areas or for a choropleth, or regions resized, clipped, moved or dropped so their visual weight is wrong.

Example

The same data shown honestly: An equal-area projection (Equal Earth) shows them at their true relative sizes. — **The fix.** An equal-area projection (Equal Earth) shows them at their true relative sizes.

Why it is bad

Mercator inflates high latitudes: Greenland looks as large as Africa, which is 14 times bigger.
On a choropleth, bigger areas get more colour and more attention, so the projection itself biases the reading.
Insets and omitted regions quietly change what counts as "the whole".

How to fix it

Use an equal-area projection (Equal Earth, Albers, Mollweide) for world choropleths and area comparisons.
Name the projection in the caption.
Show insets for far-away regions at a stated scale rather than dropping them.

When it is not a crime. Mercator is right for navigation and street-level web maps, where preserving angles matters more than areas.