Lawyers know all too well that there is a fundamental difference between the rules of rhetoric in the court of public opinion (especially one’s echo chamber) and the rules of evidence in courts of law.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump. Credit: noamgalai/Shutterstock.com Former U.S. President Donald Trump. (Credit: noamgalai/Shutterstock.com)

In the former, the rules relate to what the speaker can get his audience to believe. In the latter, the rules relate to credibility and what the speaker can prove with reliable evidence.