Regarding: "stating that something must be true because some WELL KNOWN person said it was true".
Well, for not so long time ago i heard EVERY single politician and/or person in power, fame ,expertise ... you name it, say (to underestimate a lil) that they were 100% (hundred percent) sure that Saddam Hussein had WMD and could both put together and blow up the entire globe within 45 minutes,
Everyone was in consensus about this..
From POTUS down to the smallest of the smallest .............
I guess ya'll get the point?! ;)
Conclusion: “If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough,
it will be believed.” - Joseph Goebbels

And the method how to control both sides and getting the already decided result is even older than that .. Known as "Hegelian dialectic".
Check it up and connect the dots ..........