For the sake of ease, vilnagaon.org presents the translation of Sefaria.org to Sanhedrin 26a instead of making a slightly more accurate translation.
The Gemara asks: What is the source of the halakha that a conspiracy of wicked people is not counted as part of a group? The Gemara answers: Shebna, a steward and a minister in King Hezekiah’s court, was a prominent and influential figure. He would teach Torah to an audience of 130,000 followers, whereas King Hezekiah would teach Torah to an audience of merely 110,000 followers.
When Sennacherib came and besieged Jerusalem, Shebna wrote a note and shot it over the wall with an arrow. It read: Shebna and his camp have appeased Sennacherib and are ready to surrender; Hezekiah and his camp have not appeased Sennacherib. As it is stated in allusion to this incident: “For behold, the wicked bend the bow, they have made ready their arrow upon the string” (Psalms 11:2).
Hezekiah was afraid. He said: Perhaps, God forbid, the opinion of the Holy One, Blessed be He, will follow the majority; and since the majority have submitted to the Assyrians, even those who have not submitted will also be submitted into their hands. The prophet Isaiah then came and said to him: “Say not: A conspiracy, concerning all of which this people say: A conspiracy” (Isaiah 8:12). Meaning, it is a conspiracy of wicked people, and a conspiracy of wicked people is not counted. Therefore, although they are many, they are not considered the majority.