Ad Hominem
Attacking the person making an argument instead of the argument itself is one of the oldest rhetorical tricks in the book — and one of the most effective at shutting down legitimate debate.
Critical Thinking
The rhetorical tricks, reasoning errors, and manipulative argument patterns used to deceive, distort, and derail public discourse — and how to recognize them.
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Appeal to Authority
Citing an authority figure as proof of a claim — without engaging the actual evidence — is a shortcut that can make expertise sound like a substitute for argument, or manufacture credibility where none exists.
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Appeal to Emotion
Manipulating someone's feelings — fear, guilt, outrage, pride — in place of presenting actual evidence is one of the oldest and most powerful tools in political persuasion.
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Circular Reasoning
Using your conclusion as one of your premises — arguing in a circle — can feel like a compelling argument while providing no actual evidence for anything.
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False Dilemma
Presenting two options as if they're the only possibilities — when other choices exist — is one of the most effective ways to force people into positions they would never freely choose.
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False Equivalence
Treating two things as equal or comparable when they are fundamentally different in kind or scale distorts reality as effectively as an outright lie — and is often harder to counter.
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Hasty Generalization
Drawing a broad conclusion from too few examples — or from examples that aren't representative — is the engine behind most stereotypes and much of what passes for political common sense.
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Post Hoc Fallacy
Assuming that because one thing happened before another, it must have caused it — confusing sequence with causation — is the source of superstition, bad science, and a great deal of bad economic policy.
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Red Herring
Introducing an irrelevant point to divert attention from the real argument is one of the most effective ways to escape accountability — and one of the hardest tactics to call out in real time.
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Slippery Slope
Claiming that one small step will inevitably lead to a catastrophic chain of events — without demonstrating how or why each step follows from the last — is a way to make any change seem too dangerous to attempt.
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Straw Man
Misrepresenting someone's argument as an extreme or absurd version of itself, then defeating that version, is a way to appear to win a debate without ever engaging the actual disagreement.
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Whataboutism
Deflecting criticism by pointing to someone else's misdeeds doesn't address the original charge — it just changes the subject while making it look like you answered the question.