Repeated assertions eventually become believed because their authorship is forgotten
Evidence
As for repetition, its ‘power is due to the fact that the repeated statement is embedded in the long run in those profound regions of our unconscious selves in which the motives of our actions are forged. At the end of a certain time, we have forgotten who is the author of the repeated assertion, and we finish by believing it.’ — Ernesto Laclau, On Populist Reason, 77
Categorization
- CANDY: A crisp, tweetable mechanism for why propaganda repetition works: authorship-amnesia.
- XREF: connects to: Le Bon identified affirmation, repetition, and contagion as crowd persuasion devices — Ernesto Laclau, On Populist Reason, 77; Rulers can make odious things acceptable simply by renaming them — Ernesto Laclau, On Populist Reason, 74; Some claims remain unbelievable no matter how often repeated — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 71 (+4 more)
Broader Connections
- Repeating a false claim to debunk it increases its plausibility
#corroborates(0.95) — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 164 - Repeating a statement increases belief in its truth regardless of accuracy
#corroborates(0.90) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 65 - Repeated truths eventually overcome even motivated reasoners’ resistance
#contradicts(0.85) — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 322 - Misinformation often wins because it is simpler and more repeated than truth
#expands(0.85) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 87