Moving the goalposts

Moving the goalposts swaps a bold claim for a modest one when the bold claim is challenged, then brings the bold claim back once the challenge has passed. A cure becomes 'it can help some people feel calmer', then becomes a cure again. The modest claim may be the one the evidence supports. The fault is the swap, not the modesty. Pin the first sentence down. Ask whether the second sentence is a clarification or a retreat.

Fallacy

Moving the goalposts

Moving the goalposts changes the standard of proof after it has been met, so the claim can never be accepted. Asking for better evidence at the start is fair. Changing the demand only when the evidence arrives is not.

Open the full card

Mini check

Someone claims meditation "rewires the brain and cures anxiety". When challenged, they say they only meant it "can help some people feel calmer". Later they repeat the first claim. What is happening?

A bold claim is swapped for a modest one when challenged, then brought back once the challenge passes.They have honestly revised the view and then stayed with the modest claim they offered under challenge.They are answering a distorted version of the critic, rather than the objection that was actually made.They are appealing to popularity, treating the number of people who meditate as proof of the cure.

Try it today

Write down the first claim you hear, and check later whether the same sentence is still the one being defended.

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