This illustrative cartoon depicts a hand dispensing sanitizer with the urgent text 'Quick!! Sanitise your hands!', serving as a modern analogy for the appeal to authority logical fallacy. It parallels historical deception by tobacco companies in the 1950s, where ads featured doctors in lab coats endorsing cigarettes like Camels, claiming '9 out of 10 doctors recommend' them. Researcher Ernst Wynder challenged this by proving smoking's link to cancer, highlighting how authority figures can mislead for profit. Always verify claims from experts to avoid such pitfalls.
“Relax,” you retort, “I just pet a dog, not dunk my hands in a public toilet.”
This illustrative cartoon depicts a hand dispensing sanitizer with the urgent text 'Quick!! Sanitise your hands!', serving as a modern analogy for the appeal to authority logical fallacy. It parallels historical deception by tobacco companies in the 1950s, where ads featured doctors in lab coats endorsing cigarettes like Camels, claiming '9 out of 10 doctors recommend' them. Researcher Ernst Wynder challenged this by proving smoking's link to cancer, highlighting how authority figures can mislead for profit. Always verify claims from experts to avoid such pitfalls.
They retort.
This striking cartoon features a crumbling cat skull alongside the alarming text 'My doctor says germs are everywhere! You could get a disease and Die!', satirizing the appeal to authority logical fallacy. It draws a parallel to the 1950s tobacco scandals, where companies hired doctors to appear in ads claiming cigarettes like Camels were healthy, using phrases like '9 out of 10 doctors recommend.' Ernst Wynder's groundbreaking research debunked this, linking smoking to cancer amid industry pushback with claims like 'Not ALL scientists agree!' and 'The science isn’t settled.' The image serves as a reminder to scrutinize authority-driven fears, whether about everyday germs or profit-motivated health endorsements, and to always conduct independent research.
That’s an appeal to authority. Believing something just cause someone with a fancy title said it.
This tactic fooled almost everybody in the 1950s, when tobacco companies convinced the public that smoking was HEALTHY!
The slapped lab coats on doctors and said:
This humorous cartoon portrays a dog dressed as a doctor, wearing a lab coat and stethoscope, casually smoking a cigarette while holding a Camel pack, with the text '9 out of 10 doctors recommend Camels!'. It satirizes the appeal to authority fallacy, directly referencing 1950s tobacco industry campaigns where companies like R.J. Reynolds paid real doctors to endorse Camels in ads, misleading the public into believing smoking was safe or even beneficial. Researcher Ernst Wynder countered this with evidence showing smoking's cancer causation, facing industry rebuttals like 'Not ALL scientists agree!' and offers of free lighters. The image warns against blindly trusting authority figures, especially when financial incentives distort truth, and promotes independent verification of claims.
This bold red banner stamped with 'Spoiler Alert!' serves as a dramatic reveal in discussions of the appeal to authority logical fallacy. It highlights the shocking truth from the 1950s tobacco era: doctors featured in ads, donning lab coats and endorsing brands like Camels with claims such as '9 out of 10 doctors recommend,' were financially compensated by tobacco companies, profiting while endangering public health. Researcher Ernst Wynder's persistent investigations linked smoking to cancer, dismantling these deceptions despite industry tactics like denying consensus with 'Not ALL scientists agree!' and distracting with freebies. The image emphasizes the dangers of unquestioned trust in authorities and the importance of scrutinizing motives, particularly profit-driven ones.
These doctors were PAID - raking it in while damaging people's health!
This playful yet pointed cartoon depicts a dog dressed as a doctor, wearing a lab coat, sunglasses, and a smug grin, while exuberantly throwing bills and coins into the air, symbolizing ill-gotten gains. It illustrates the appeal to authority logical fallacy by highlighting how 1950s tobacco companies compensated doctors to endorse cigarettes like Camels in ads, profiting immensely while misleading the public on health risks. Ernst Wynder's research ultimately exposed smoking's cancer connections, countering industry denials and freebies. The image cautions against trusting authorities with hidden financial incentives, urging readers to investigate claims independently to avoid similar manipulations.
Well, a researcher named Ernst Wynder wasn’t buying it. He saw through the smoke. (Literally)
TThis engaging cartoon shows an irritated dog facing off against a doctor dog exhaling smoke from a cigarette, with thick smoke clouds billowing between them, representing the phrase 'seeing through the smoke.' It illustrates researcher Ernst Wynder's refusal to accept the appeal to authority fallacy in 1950s tobacco marketing, where companies paid doctors to endorse cigarettes like Camels as safe in ads featuring lab coats and medical tools. Wynder's studies proved smoking's link to cancer, challenging industry responses like 'The science isn’t settled!' and free lighters, while the public continued smoking under false pretenses. The image promotes critical thinking against misleading expert claims, especially those driven by profit.
Newspapers and magazines would have doctors in white coats holding cigarettes like they were some kind of MEDICAL TOOL.
This illustrative cartoon features stacked newspapers and magazines with dog characters in lab coats smoking cigarettes, titled 'Doctor's Choice,' 'Healthier Smoking,' and generic 'Newspaper' and 'Magz' headers. It satirizes the appeal to authority logical fallacy prevalent in 1950s tobacco advertising, where media outlets published images of doctors in white coats holding cigarettes as if they were medical tools, convincing the public that smoking was safe or beneficial. Ernst Wynder and other scientists challenged this narrative by demonstrating smoking's cancer links, while tobacco companies countered with 'The science isn’t settled!' and distractions. The image underscores the peril of trusting media-portrayed authorities without verification, especially amid profit-driven campaigns.
While doctors and the public were puffing away like it cures cancer, Ernst and other scientists were like: UHH... This stuff causes CANCER.
The tobacco campanies responded with:
This illustration summarizes the three-step defense used by tobacco companies in the 1950s when facing evidence from researchers like Ernst Wynder. Step 1: Create artificial debate ('Not all scientists agree'). Step 2: Emphasize uncertainty ('Science isn't settled'). Step 3: Distract with consumer benefits ('Free lighter').
People believed the ads. Why? Because DOCTORS WERE SAYING IT!
It took YEARS before the truth finally came out. Smoking was killing people, and those "EXPERT" doctors were nothing more than PAID SALESPEOPLE for tobacco companies.
Visualizing the Conflict of Interest: This cartoon depicts how the tobacco industry used financial incentives to buy the loyalty of doctors, creating a false Appeal to Authority.
Ernst and other brave researchers kept fighting though. And throughout it all, they learned...
The image acts as the visual proof of the conflict of interest.
Don’t blindly trust everything you hear from someone in a position of power.
Always do your own research and make sure the information you’re receiving isn’t being used to make a lot of money!
Explore this fallacy with our Appeal to Authority Activity Pack!
If you would like to receive our weekly comics, plus regular fun freebies, updates and more, sign up to our weekly newsletter. Scroll down to subscribe.
