Three Men Make a Tiger
An ancient Chinese proverb for inspiration:
A minister approached the king and asked, "If one person came to you and claimed there was a tiger in the marketplace, would you believe it?"
The king replied, "No, of course not."
The minister continued, "What if two people claimed there was a tiger in the marketplace?"
The king paused and said, "I might begin to have some doubt."
Finally, the minister asked, "And what if three people all insisted there was a tiger in the marketplace?"
The king responded, "If three people claimed it, I would believe there’s a tiger."
The minister concluded, "Your Majesty, there is no tiger in the marketplace, yet with enough voices, even the most absurd claim can seem true."
Many things presented 2 us in news media follow this pattern. 1 outlet presents some unbelievable claim, and it gets picked up by other media outlets w/ similar ideological alignments. Only then is it presented 2 us as fact, when it is not.
Absolutely