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Is there a term to describe phrases such as: "it is well known that," "most people believe that," or "it is often thought that?"
I see these phrases used when someone tries to present their opinion as an accepted fact even when their argument is not supported by fact.
Wikipedia calls them "weasel words", which is as good a term as any. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_word for a good description.
It is actually a logical fallacy called "appeal to the majority". Fallacious is a good description, although I like weasel words and unsubstantiated generalizations as well.
Your question describes the phrases very well: generalizations. An opinion not backed up by fact is an unsubstantiation. "His arguments are full of unsubstatiations."
I've seen "deadwood phrases" used to discribe such phrases that add nothing to the meaning and could (and should) be removed (like dead wood) from the sentence. Although I would suggest that "It is often thought that" isn't necessarily one such phrase as it indicates that a contrary opinion is going to be asserted. As in "It is often thought that Picasso was French, although he was Spanish" - the phrase adds something to the sentence beyond simply stating: "Picasso was Spanish".
These phrases are all similar in that they might be used to persuade someone through the false reasoning that if a majority believe something or hold it to be true, that thing must therefore be credible or true.
Andrew is right; this is a logical fallacy. As for a name, I like "bandwagon fallacy".
I would call them bold statements or sweeping generalisations.
I would characterize such generalizations as trite.
