- A claim can be completely true – and still backfire. LifeLock's "one in four people experience identity theft" was accurate and research-backed. Consumers just heard it differently: "that's not me – I'll be the three out of four."
- A claim score means nothing without a benchmark. Seventy-five percent believable, compared to what? Without competitor claims or category norms to measure against, a genuinely strong score and a "best of a mediocre bunch" score look identical.
- Stacking claims doesn't add proof – it adds noise. Three strong stats in one message don't triple the impact; they just give consumers three competing reasons instead of one clear one. As Everett puts it: "one plus one plus one doesn't equal three, it just equals noise."