Unchallenged assertions gain credibility with passive audiences

Evidence

When one thinks about the loss of face in the event of a refusal to discuss, one usually thinks less about the spurned discussion partner than about third parties listening or reading along. This is not only about one’s own reputation, but also about the matter itself: If a confidently presented assertion remains unchallenged, it strengthens its credibility – even with listeners who would usually be more inclined to reject it. Under certain circumstances, you are no longer arguing for your counterpart, but actually only for the listeners or fellow readers. — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 263

Categorization

• XREF: This is the audience-effect logic of Milgrom’s reputation model, transposed from trade to public discourse — a third-party monitoring effect. — connects to: Curating facts functions as polemic more effectively than explicit argumentation; Broadcast mass media turn audiences into passive listeners with no means of reply. — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 94; Repeating a statement increases belief in its truth regardless of accuracy — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 65 (+9 more)