“Nabu, Roy, or Nex” Polls: The “Appeal to Popularity” Fallacy

Warning: this is a negative post. I’m sorry. Sometimes, I need to vent.

“Appeal to popularity” is a logical fallacy based on the phrase, “The majority is always right.” The idea is that if most people approve of something, it must be good/true/the best/etc. Conversely, if most people disapprove of something, it must be bad/false/the worst, etc.

That’s the real reason people make “Nabu, Roy, or Nex” polls. Often, the pollers will also write posts or comments where they complain about Aisha dating Nex. That shows their true motives. They hope not many people will choose him, so they can use his lack of popularity as “proof” he’s wrong for Aisha and to justify hating him.

Their polls might as well look like this:

You also have pollers who haven’t gotten over Nabu’s death. They wanna use his popularity as “proof” he was the best guy for Aisha and to justify rejecting any other love interest. Their polls might as well look like this:

Either way, it’s the same fallacy at play. If the majority of Winx fans love Nabu, he must have been the best guy for her. If the majority hates Nex, he must be the worst guy for her. The majority always knows what’s best, after all, especially for people other than themselves. They’ve never made mistakes or re-examined their beliefs because of new information, right?

The First-Ever Fairy?

To quote British philosopher Bertrand Russell:

The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd…

Winx Club itself had an example of this. Remember fake Avalon’s lesson in “Professor Avalon’s Secret” (Winx season 2, episode 9)? He asked the class, “Who was the first-ever fairy?”

“Clariol!” they said. (I don’t know if I spelled that right. It looks like a haircare brand.)

When he asked if they could prove it, Aisha said, “My mother told me, and she’s never wrong.”

“That may be so, but where did your mother learn it from?”

“I can’t really say for sure, but everyone knows about Clariol.”

There you go: “Everyone knows.” Aisha tried to argue that her mother was right because everyone else also believed it. But as Avalon explained:

Having everyone believe she’s the first fairy is enough to make her so, even though she’s not.

The best part about this scene? It was foreshadowing. Because of his appearance, words, and actions, everyone believed he was the real Professor Avalon. But he wasn’t.

Bottom line: just because the majority believes something doesn’t mean it’s true. “Nabu, Roy, or Nex” polls can never prove which guy is best for Aisha. They can only tell us which guy the fandom likes most — for now, at least. After all, opinions can and do change.

That doesn’t mean popularity is worthless. As you know, I’d love for Aisha and Nex to become a popular couple, but not as “proof” that they’re right for each other. I just want more people to fangirl over them with. Popularity for popularity’s sake.

I know that even if that happens, not everyone will love this couple. Heck, the majority still might hate them. But it won’t matter as long as enough people love them. ❤️