The testimony of the spies began on a positive note: "Indeed it flows with milk and honey." But once they began describing the giants and the fortified cities, fear descended upon the congregation. And even though Bnei Yisrael had witnessed tremendous miracles, the Ten Plagues, the Splitting of the Sea, the descent of the mahn, and the Exodus from Egypt, they recoiled and lost confidence, as it says (14:3): "Why is Hashem bringing us to this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our children will become prey. Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”
That night, the night of Tishah B'Av, was established as a night of weeping and calamity for future generations, a measure for measure response to their complaints. As the Sages teach: “You wept a weeping for naught; therefore, I will establish for you a weeping for generations" (Maseches Taanis 29a). The lashon hara (slander) of the spies influenced the congregation, and the congregation accepted their words. Lashon hara involves two parties, the speaker and the listener, and the sin of the listener is even greater than that of the speaker (Rambam, Hilchos De'os 7:3). Yet here, when the entire congregation accepted the lashon hara, they entered a state of a "mass crowd," where the individual is nullified by the perception of the collective, and the truth becomes completely distorted.
Only two men remained steadfast in their faith: Yehoshua bin Nun and Kalev ben Yefuneh. They proclaimed (14:8): “If Hashem desires us, then He will bring us to this land and give it to us, a land flowing with milk and honey." But the congregation responded with violence, threatening to stone them.
