Ad ignorantiam Fallacy Examples in Media, Real Life, Politics, News & Ads

Ad Ignorantiam Fallacy

What Is Ad Ignorantiam Fallacy?

The ad ignorantiam fallacy is a type of informal logical fallacy that occurs when one asserts that something must be true simply because it has not been proven false. In other words, the person making an argument assumes that if they cannot prove otherwise, then their conclusion must be correct.

This line of reasoning is fallacious because the absence of evidence does not constitute evidence of absence.

Ad ignorantiam is a Latin term meaning “argument from ignorance.”  It is an argument which states that since you can’t prove something doesn’t exist, it must exist.

 For example, the Loch Ness Monster does not have scientific evidence to support its existence, but many people believe in it because they cannot disprove its existence.

Ad Ignorantiam Fallacy Examples

Ad Ignorantiam Fallacy Real-Life Examples

Ad Ignorantiam Fallacy in Real Life:

The Ad ignorantiam fallacy is the logical fallacy of arguing that a claim must be true because it has not been proven false or that something exists because it has not been shown not to exist.

A common example of this type of argument is, “I can’t prove there isn’t an invisible pink unicorn in my garage, so there must be one.”

This reasoning line would lead to a false conclusion as the absence of evidence does not equal evidence for its existence.

Ad ignorantiam Fallacy Examples in Media

Examples of Ad Ignorantiam Fallacy in Media: 

•  The media is biased because it reports on things that are not true.
•  The media is biased because they don’t report on other things that are happening in the world.
• The media is biased because they only focus on one side of a story.
• The media is biased because they don’t give people enough time to respond to accusations.

Related: Ad Verecundiam Fallacy Examples 

Ad Ignorantiam Fallacy Examples in Philosophy

Examples of Ad Ignorantiam Fallacy in Philosophy:

• The person who wrote this list is a liar because they said that the sky was blue.
•  I know for a fact that my dad never bought me a car, so he must not exist.
• This article has been debunked by at least three different sources, so it’s obviously false.

Ad ignorantiam Fallacy Examples in Advertising

Ad ignorantiam Fallacy in Advertising: 

• A company advertises that their product is the best because it has a 4-star review on Amazon.
• A company advertises that their product cures cancer because they have testimonials from people who say it does.
• The following advertisement says, “Don’t buy this car, it’s not as good as our other cars.“

Ad Ignorantiam Fallacy in Politics

Examples of Ad Ignorantiam Fallacy in Politics:

The fallacy of argument from ignorance is when someone argues that a claim is true because there’s no evidence to the contrary.

 An example of this fallacy in politics would be if someone argued that their candidate should win an election because they have not been convicted of any crimes, even though they are running for office after being caught on camera committing several felonies.

Ad Ignorantiam Fallacy in Movies

Examples of Ad Ignorantiam Fallacy in Movies:

In movies, this type of fallacious reasoning can often be seen when characters are trying to figure out who committed a crime, and they argue about who could have done it without any proof that they did it or didn’t do it all.

Ad Ignorantiam Fallacy Examples in Literature

Examples of Ad Ignorantiam Fallacy in Literature:

The ad ignorantiam fallacy is committed when someone assumes that something must be true because it has not been proven false.

In literature, this can happen when a character makes an assumption about another character’s motives or feelings without having any evidence to support the claim.

Ad Ignorantiam Fallacy Examples in News

Examples of Ad Ignorantiam Fallacy in News:

•  The news article is an example of ad ignorantiam fallacy because it assumes that the president was involved with Russian interference in the election without supporting this claim.
• The news article is an example of the ad ignorantiam fallacy because it assumes that there are no other explanations for why Trump would not want to be interviewed by Mueller without providing any evidence to support this claim.
•  The news article is an example of an ad ignorantiam fallacy because it assumes that Trump had a meeting with Putin at G-20 without supporting this claim.
•  The news article is an example of an ad ignorantiam fallacy because it claims that Trump has been lying about his involvement with Russia but does not provide any evidence to back up its assertion.

Related: Appeal to Tradition Fallacy Examples