# Moving the goalposts

*Also called: Raising the bar*

- **Cluster:** Distraction and distortion — Moving the argument somewhere easier to win
- **Page:** https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/moving-goalposts/
- **In Arabic:** https://fallacy.wiki/ar/fallacy/moving-goalposts.md
- **Licence:** CC BY 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

## What it is

Demanding new evidence once the original demand has been met.

## In the wild

> Fine, you proved that, but now prove this too.

## How to answer it

Fix the standard in advance and ask what result would count as settling it.

## Origin and naming

A sporting metaphor: in football and hockey the goalposts fix what counts as a score. To 'move the goalposts' is to change the standard mid-game so a good shot no longer counts. The image passed from sports reporting into general argument in the late twentieth century.

## More places it shows up

- A manager doubts the new hire can handle clients; after a flawless quarter of client work, the new test is whether she can train others to do it.
- A skeptic demands one peer-reviewed study on a supplement; shown three, he asks why none ran for longer than five years.
- A parent tells a teenager she can go out once her grades improve; when they do, the new condition is that her room must stay clean for a month.
- A regulator asks a bank to raise its capital buffer; when the bank complies, the regulator hints real confidence would require a full public audit too.

## How to spot it

- Notice when meeting the stated standard produces a new standard instead of agreement.
- Notice when 'what would change your mind?' gets no fixed answer.
- Notice when each concession is greeted by 'that's nice, but what about...'.

## Nearby

- [Ad hoc rescue](https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/ad-hoc-rescue.md)
- [Motte and bailey](https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/motte-bailey.md)
- [Unfalsifiability](https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/unfalsifiability.md)

## Read more

- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_the_goalposts)

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From fallacy.wiki — a bilingual field guide to 91 logical fallacies, published by phi holdings. Licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): reuse freely with attribution to fallacy.wiki.