"If you have an anecdote from one source, you file it away. If you hear it again, it may be true. Then the more times you hear it the less likely it is to be true"
About this Quote
Holden nails a nasty little paradox of journalism: repetition is both the filter and the contaminant. The line starts in the posture of good reporting discipline. One anecdote is a loose thread; you catalog it, don’t build a coat out of it. Hear it twice and your instincts shift toward corroboration. That middle beat is the trapdoor, because the very mechanism that makes stories feel verified in public life is often just circulation.
The sting is in the third clause: “the more times you hear it the less likely it is to be true.” Holden is describing memetic drift, how a claim can gain apparent legitimacy not through evidence but through narrative fitness. The best rumor isn’t the most accurate; it’s the most retellable. Each retelling sands off friction: names become archetypes, motives simplify, timelines clean up. The anecdote becomes a parable, then a talking point, then “everyone knows.” At that point, its ubiquity is no longer a sign of cross-checking; it’s evidence of social reward.
As a journalist, Holden’s intent isn’t just to warn readers about hearsay. He’s ribbing his own trade’s vulnerability to herd certainty: newsrooms, sources, and audiences all share the same cognitive shortcut that equates frequency with truth. The subtext is almost ethical: treat viral familiarity as a red flag, not a comfort. Contextually, it’s a pre-social-media insight that reads like a critique of today’s algorithmic echo chambers, where the loudest stories are often the ones least burdened by reality.
The sting is in the third clause: “the more times you hear it the less likely it is to be true.” Holden is describing memetic drift, how a claim can gain apparent legitimacy not through evidence but through narrative fitness. The best rumor isn’t the most accurate; it’s the most retellable. Each retelling sands off friction: names become archetypes, motives simplify, timelines clean up. The anecdote becomes a parable, then a talking point, then “everyone knows.” At that point, its ubiquity is no longer a sign of cross-checking; it’s evidence of social reward.
As a journalist, Holden’s intent isn’t just to warn readers about hearsay. He’s ribbing his own trade’s vulnerability to herd certainty: newsrooms, sources, and audiences all share the same cognitive shortcut that equates frequency with truth. The subtext is almost ethical: treat viral familiarity as a red flag, not a comfort. Contextually, it’s a pre-social-media insight that reads like a critique of today’s algorithmic echo chambers, where the loudest stories are often the ones least burdened by reality.
Quote Details
| Topic | Truth |
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