Ad nauseam
|
Ad nauseam is a Latin term used to describe something that has been continuing "to the point of nausea." For example "This topic has been discussed ad nauseam": it has been discussed extensively and everyone has tired of it.
Argumentum ad nauseam or argument from repetition is the false proof of a statement by (prolonged) repetition, possibly by different people. This logical fallacy is commonly used as a form of rhetoric by politicians, and it is one of the mechanisms of reinforcing urban legends. In its extreme form, it can also be a form of brainwashing. Though a logical fallacy, nonetheless it is convincing to people because, as one of history's main practitioners of this propaganda technique, Joseph Goebbels, observed, if something is repeated as true often enough, people will eventually come to believe it is true.
Many are hardened to this form of fallacy by now, and tire of such repetition of slogans: witness the popular backlash to political slogans which get repeated endlessly.