In today's world people are most likely going to believe something more frequently if it is has confirmation by others. "Three Men and a Tiger" is a perfect example of this. Pang Cong was a minister in the Wei court. He grew worrisome over the tasks that had been appointed to him so he laid out a series of questions to the king before he left. He simply stated "If a man says there is a tiger in the marketplace, would you believe it?" The king then answered "No". He then asked if two men had said there was a tiger in the marketplace, would you believe it? The king then said "I would be suspicious of it." Finally, he asked if three men said there was a tiger in the marketplace, would you believe them? The king then answered sternly, "Yes, I would".
It is natural instinct to be suspicious of something without knowing there is any sort of credible source of information behind it. This is directly correlated to the idea of Public Relations and the impact it has on a society. It is the power of skepticism and confirmation. If "three" people can persuade someone to believe a rumor or an allegation, then can you imagine the power of a widespread of people. It is a fallacious type of argument that explains that if you get enough people, anyone can be persuaded.
For example, if you get told you look overweight by your best friend there could be some doubt in your mind as to if he/she was joking. However, if you start getting more and more people realizing that you are out of shape, then you are more inclined to start believing that you are. Therefore, the more people that mention something about it, the better the chances are that you will go to the gym and start working out. It's the thought of, "oh not only does my best friend notice, but people I'm not as close to notice as well".
http://chinesecauldron.com/story-index/three-men-make-a-tiger/
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