In the kinds of media arguments examined so far, including those classified as appeals to fear and pity and as ad hominem arguments, the argument is partly based on and directed to popular opinion. In the type of argument called argumentum ad populum, as defined in chapter 3, the proponent tries to get the respondent to accept an opinion or perform an action because that opinion is accepted by the popular majority. Of course, much of what we do we learn by watching or following others. And there is a powerful urge not to be singled out or left out of the group. Thus, as already shown in the analysis of propaganda in chapter 3, this form of argument can psychologically be very powerful. But from an evidential point of view, it would appear to be extremely weak. For just because a large number of people accept some proposition, it does not follow that the proposition is true. We have all long been taught that such an inference is erroneous. We are all aware that science has proved many popularly accepted beliefs to be false. How then should one evaluate an appeal to popular opinion? Could there be some legitimate grounds for accepting such an argument in some instances, or is the commonly accepted view in logic right that this type of argument is fallacious?