Spot it
False authority / "scientists say"
Also called appeal to authority, fake experts
A title, a white coat or 'studies show' borrows trust the claim hasn't earned.
Trusting experts is usually wise; nobody can check everything. The trick is borrowing that trust: a doctor talking outside their field, a single maverick presented as 'scientists', a vague 'research shows' with no study named, or a press release that overstates a modest finding. Learning this technique in advance helps people resist it. The test is: which expert, in what field, and what does the wider body of evidence say?
What the research says
Well supported
- Cook, Lewandowsky & Ecker (2017). PLoS ONE 12(5), e0175799Explaining the 'fake experts' and 'false balance' techniques in advance reduced their effect. Tested on climate messages; US samples.
Well supported
- Sumner et al. (2014). BMJ 349, g7015Exaggeration in health news often started in university press releases. Observational study.
Where you'll see it
- 'Dentists recommend'
- Celebrity doctors selling products
- 'Studies show' with no link
- Petitions signed by 'thousands of scientists'
- A single expert presented as the consensus, from any field
Your defence
Ask 'who, exactly?' Then check their field and whether most of their field agrees.