What it sounds like
- Prove my conspiracy theory is wrong.
- "Prove this supplement does not improve focus." No, friend. You brought the supplement to court.
Logical fallacy
Burden of Proof Fallacy
Demanding others disprove your claim instead of you proving it.
Classic tell: Prove my conspiracy theory is wrong.
Back to the guideFurther explanation
What is happening underneath?
Demanding others disprove your claim instead of you proving it.
The person making the claim hands everyone else the job of disproving it. Nice outsourcing, bad reasoning.
How to tell
- The claimant offers little evidence and demands opponents prove a negative.
Why people use it
- It shifts labor away from the person who introduced the claim.
How to combat it
- Say: "The burden is on the claim. What evidence supports it?"
Manipulation watch
How this gets used on people.
- Sales pages imply skepticism is closed-minded unless customers can disprove vague benefits the company never proved.