Anonymous authority

	Part of the series on Logic and rhetoric
	Key articles
	Logical fallacy ; Syllogism ; Argument ;
	General logic
	Common sense ; Evil is the absence of God ; False dilemma ; Logique ; Mistaking the map for the territory ; Nirvana fallacy ;
	Bad logic
	Blaming the victim ; Certum est quia impossibile est ; Gambler's fallacy ; Illicit observation ; Motte and bailey ; Overgeneralization ; v - t - e

The fallacy of anonymous authority (also unidentified expert, rumor) occurs when an argument from authority is made, but the quote is given without accompanying identification of its source.

For example, "Scientists have found out..." or "A famous evolutionist said..." or "Some people say..."

It is easy to invent quotes and spread them as a rumor, or distort the quote without risk of detection if nobody can look it up.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

"Anonymous Authorities", Stephen Downes
"Appeal to Anonymous Authority", Austin Cline

v - t - e Articles about logical fallacies
Informal fallacies:			Appeal to ancient wisdom • Appeal to mystery • Appeal to nature • Appeal to novelty • Appeal to probability • Appeal to tradition • Argument from morality • Argument from oh bloody hell that was years ago • Argumentum ad lunam • Argumentum ad martyrdom • Balance fallacy • Big words • Certum est quia impossibile est • Circular reasoning • Common sense • Due diligence • Escape to the future • Exception that proves the rule • Extended analogy • Flying carpet fallacy • Golden hammer • Good old days • Hindsight bias • Hyperbole • Imperfect therefore untrustworthy • Infinite regress • Informal fallacy • Mistaking the map for the territory • Moralistic fallacy • Morton's fork • My enemy's enemy • Naturalistic fallacy • Post-designation • Presentism • Relativist fallacy • Sanctioning the devil • Spider-Man fallacy • Sunk cost • Two wrongs make a right • Word magic •
	Ad hoc:		Ad hoc • Escape hatch • God of the gaps • Handwave • Moving the goalposts • Nirvana fallacy • No True Scotsman • PIDOOMA • Slothful induction • Special pleading •
	Arguments from ignorance:		Appeal to censorship • Argument from ignorance • Argument from incredulity • Argument from omniscience • Argument from silence • Holmesian fallacy • Science doesn't know everything • Science was wrong before • Toupee fallacy • Willful ignorance •
	Causation fallacies:		Causalation • Correlation does not imply causation • Counterfactual fallacy • Gambler's fallacy • Genuine but insignificant cause • Post hoc, ergo propter hoc • Regression fallacy • Wrong direction •
	Circular reasoning:		Appeal to faith • Argument by assertion • Argumentum ad dictionarium • Circular reasoning • Infinite regress • Self-refuting idea •
	Emotional appeals:		Appeal to confidence • Appeal to consequences • Appeal to fear • Appeal to flattery • Appeal to gravity • Appeal to hate • Appeal to money • Appeal to pity • Appeal to shame • Argumentum ad baculum • Argumentum ad fastidium • Deepity • Emotional appeal • Loaded language • Pathos gambit • Style over substance • Tone argument •
	Fallacies of ambiguity:		Continuum fallacy • Definitional fallacies • Equivocation • Etymology • Fallacy of accent • Fallacy of ambiguity • Fallacy of amphiboly • Illicit observation • Moral equivalence • Not as bad as • Phantom distinction • Quote mining • Scope fallacy • Suppressed correlative • Wronger than wrong •
Formal fallacies:			Affirmative conclusion from a negative premise • Affirming a disjunct • Affirming the consequent • Chewbacca Defense • Confusion of the inverse • Denying the antecedent • Enthymeme • Existential assumption • Fallacy fallacy • False dilemma • Formal fallacy • Four-term fallacy • Illicit process • Masked man fallacy • Negative conclusion from affirmative premises • Nemmeno sbagliato • Non sequitur • Not even wrong • Substituting explanation for premise • Syllogism •
Fallacious argument styles:			"I used to be an atheist..." • Anti-environmentalism • Apophasis • Appeal to bias • Appeal to censorship • Argumentum ad nauseam • Bait-and-switch • Blaming the victim • Bullshit • Canard • Chewbacca Defense • DARVO • Danth's Law • Demonization • Escape hatch • Friend argument • Gish Gallop • Godwin's Law • Gore's Law • Greece-baiting • Ham Hightail • Intuition pump • Just asking questions • Leading question • Linking to authority • Loaded language • Loaded question • Lying by omission • Motte and bailey • Moving the goalposts • One-way hash argument • One single proof • Pink-baiting • Poisoning the well • Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur • Quote mining • Race card • Red-baiting • Red herring • Release the data • Scapegoat • Science was wrong before • Shill gambit • Silent Majority • Spurious rigor • Straw man • Style over substance • Terrorism-baiting • Uncertainty tactic • Weasel word • What's the harm • Whataboutism •
Conditional fallacies:			Conditional fallacy • On the spot fallacy • Slippery slope • Special pleading • What's the harm •
	Genetic fallacies:		Genetic fallacy •
		Appeals to authority:	Appeal to celebrity • Appeal to confidence • Appeal to the minority • Argument from authority • Argumentum ad populum • Galileo gambit • Invincible authority • Ipse dixit • Linking to authority • Professor of nothing • Silent Majority • Ultracrepidarianism •
		Ad hominem:	Ad iram • Appeal to bias • Argumentum ad cellarium • Argumentum ad hominem • Argumentum ad hominem (français) • Association fallacy • Blaming the victim • Bulverism • Damning with faint praise • Demonization • Fallacy of opposition • Jonanism • Nutpicking • Pathos gambit • Poisoning the well • Scapegoat • Shill gambit • Tu quoque • Whataboutism •
	Imprecision fallacies:		Anecdotal evidence • Apex fallacy • Appeal to fiction • Category mistake • Cherry picking • Confounding factor • Fallacy of accident • False analogy • Imprecision fallacy • Nutpicking • Overgeneralization • Overprecision • Pragmatic fallacy • Selection bias • Spotlight fallacy • Texas sharpshooter fallacy •
Valid logical methods:			Logical validity • Negative evidence •
Fallacy collections:			Fallacy Files • Nizkor Project • SeekFind • Your Logical Fallacy Is •

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Anonymous authority

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