The Appeal to the majority reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Appeal to the majority

An appeal to the majority (also called argumentum ad populum) is the logical fallacy of believing that because something is popular, it is right.

For example, using the argument that most Americans support the death penalty as an argument for the death penalty is an appeal to the majority and does not logically support the argument.

The appeal to the majority is a modification of the logical fallacy appeal to authority, in that greater numbers are thought to give greater authority to a position or action.

See also

• Bandwagon effect
• appeal to authority

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