British mathematician and philosopher William Kingdon Clifford was well-known in the 19th century for both his mathematical contributions and his perceptive philosophical ideas. Among his noteworthy concepts is how we assess the veracity of other people's testimony or information.

Clifford thought that the same criteria should be used to evaluate the veracity of a statement made by one person or by a group of people. Consider yourself attempting to determine the veracity of a story by hearing what your friends have to say about it. Clifford advises giving each friend's account the same weight and examining them all with the same degree of care. Something is not necessarily true just because a lot of people think it is.

In the current information era, Clifford's viewpoint is comparable to consulting several sources before believing news. In a similar vein, it's important to conduct additional research rather than blindly accepting the majority opinion as true if a group consensus is established on the basis of shaky or biased evidence. This idea encourages people to question the validity of popular beliefs and not just follow them without question.

Clifford had a strong interest in the ethics of belief and maintained that, whether held by an individual or by a group, having an opinion without enough support could be detrimental. His writings had an impact on later philosophers and are still pertinent in debates concerning accountability, truth, and communal values.