Weasel words

What it is

Uses vague wording ("some say", "studies show", "many experts") that suggests support without naming who or what it is.

Related

• Appeal to authority fallacy
  "Experts say" invokes authority without naming one.
• Equivocation fallacy
  Both depend on language doing hidden work: equivocation by shifting meaning, weasel words by staying vague.
• Forer effect bias
  Vague statements feel personally meaningful, which is the Forer effect and the weasel word's appeal.
• Continuum fallacy fallacy
  Vague terms like "tall" or "heap" have fuzzy edges that continuum arguments exploit.

References

• Wikipedia: Weasel words en.wikipedia.org
• Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Fallacies iep.utm.edu
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Fallacies plato.stanford.edu
• Wikipedia: List of fallacies en.wikipedia.org
• Purdue OWL: Logical fallacies owl.purdue.edu

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