>[!abstract] >Preference falsification is the act of misrepresenting one's true beliefs, preferences, or intentions in public due to social, political, or cultural pressures, while privately holding different views. Coined by Timur Kuran, the concept explains how individuals may conform outwardly to dominant norms or regimes even when privately dissenting, thereby sustaining systems or ideologies that appear widely supported but rest on fragile consensus. This dynamic helps account for sudden social upheavals or regime collapses: once a tipping point is reached, suppressed private preferences rapidly surface, revealing that the apparent majority support was largely illusory. >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): [[Conformity]] >- **West** (similar): [[Pluralistic ignorance]] >- **East** (different): [[Authentic self-expression]] >- **South** (downstream): [[Sudden regime change]]