Fallacy · Rigging the question
Moving the goalposts
Also called: Raising the bar
Changing what counts as evidence after the original test has been met.
What it is
If someone asks for a certain kind of proof, then demands something new once it is supplied, no evidence can ever be enough. The test was never really a test. Agreeing in advance what would change your mind keeps both sides honest.
An example
“Show me one study.” Here is a study. “Well, show me ten.” Here are ten. “They were all funded by universities, so they don’t count.”
How to spot it
The demand changes each time it is met, always just out of reach.
How to answer it
“Before I find more, what would actually change your mind?”
When it is not a fallacy
Asking for more is fair when new information shows the first test was genuinely too weak, and you say so openly.
Printable sheet of all fallacies
Cite or share this page
A plain reference you can paste into notes or an essay:
Quest2Reason. “Moving the goalposts.” https://quest2reason.com/learn/ideas/fallacies/moving-the-goalposts. Accessed 13 November 2026.