Moving the goalposts
Shifts the required standard of evidence after it has been met.
Specimen
We said a 10% cut would be meaningful. They did it. But 10% isn't enough given the global picture.
Fabricated passage — teaching example designed for clarity.
moving the goalposts — agreed benchmark met, then retroactively dismissed
Dissection
We said a 10% cut would be meaningful. They did it. But 10% isn't enough given the global picture.
- original standard not retracted formally
- new bar introduced after target hit
- victory condition shifts
Field notes
- Family
- Logical fallacy
- Habitat
- policy debate, political commentary, sports coverage
- Frequency
- found in 6% of analyzed articles
- Confused with
- Circular reasoning , Nirvana fallacy
In the wild
"They hit the jobs target, yes — but the quality of those jobs is what we should really be measuring."
Economic commentary, national broadsheet, January 2026
"Crime is down, but what about the types of crime? The data doesn't tell the full story."
Political analysis, online magazine, March 2026
Why it works
Each new standard sounds reasonable in isolation. The pattern of constant movement goes unnoticed.
Counter-move
State what the original standard was. Has that been met or not?
See it flagged in real articles while you read.
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