Bandwagon
Implies something is correct because many people believe it.
Specimen
Most people already understand that this approach doesn't work. Isn't it time the holdouts caught up?
Fabricated passage — teaching example designed for clarity.
bandwagon — popular belief substituted for evidence
Dissection
Most people already understand that this approach doesn't work.
- no survey cited
- popular belief ≠ truth
- dissent framed as ignorance
Field notes
- Family
- False authority
- Habitat
- opinion pieces, political commentary, social coverage
- Frequency
- found in 7% of analyzed articles
- Confused with
- Unnamed expert , Circular reasoning
In the wild
"Poll after poll shows that ordinary citizens have already reached this conclusion. The debate is over."
Political commentary, online magazine, February 2026
"Everyone in the field knows this hasn't worked. Only a few holdouts still pretend otherwise."
Industry opinion, trade publication, April 2026
Why it works
Social consensus is a cognitive shortcut. Under uncertainty, the brain delegates judgment to the group — and the author is offering a pre-packaged group consensus at no cost to verify.
Counter-move
Ask: what's the actual evidence, separate from what people believe?
See it flagged in real articles while you read.
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