The ratification of an unauthorized act must be in the particular mode or form necessary to confer authority in the first place.

追认一项未经授权行为必须以最初授权时所必需的特定方式和形式进行。

youdao

Now, in an era of constant polling and the permanent campaign, elections no longer confer much authority on the victor.

ECONOMIST: Presidential nominations

The message here is that fame and parentage confer journalistic authority, rather than talent or an ability to get the story right.

FORBES: Chelsea Clinton, Nepotism, and News