We should show this number because it would help people see that even when their story isn't being read it is still being offered to a lot of people.

We don't have any reason not to show it other than that not all impressions are equal. We're very precise on the web and mobile app about whether a person saw a link to your story. But a lot of impressions are via email and it's only possible to know if someone opened the email, not which stories they saw on screen.

But that's just a detail. We have enough info to show something useful and we should.