A million likes can’t turn a wrong fact into a right one.

Numbers are persuasive in a way that has nothing to do with evidence, and they work in both directions. Standing alone with something accurate feels like being wrong, and standing in a crowd with something false feels like being right. Neither feeling is information. A count tells you how far something traveled, which is a fact about attention rather than about the world.

When you notice a number doing the convincing, stop and ask what the actual support is. Say the claim out loud without the popularity attached and see whether it still stands.