False consensus
Claims a majority view exists without evidence to support the claim.
Specimen
Nobody seriously defends this approach anymore . The debate has moved on.
Fabricated passage — teaching example designed for clarity.
false consensus — consensus asserted without any evidence
Dissection
Nobody seriously defends this approach anymore. The debate has moved on.
- consensus unverified
- dissenters dismissed as unserious
- debate declared over unilaterally
Field notes
- Family
- False authority
- Habitat
- political commentary, academic writing, editorial boards
- Frequency
- found in 11% of analyzed articles
- Confused with
- Bandwagon , Circular reasoning
In the wild
"Every credible economist agrees this model is exhausted. The holdouts are simply not engaging with the evidence."
Economic opinion, financial publication, January 2026
"This is no longer a serious position in the field. The science has settled."
Science commentary, national broadsheet, March 2026
Why it works
Declared consensus puts the reader on the defensive: to disagree is to position yourself outside the mainstream before evaluating the claim.
Counter-move
Ask: who actually holds this view? What's the evidence for the consensus?
See it flagged in real articles while you read.
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