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    • Diet Pills. "These diet pills didn't work because you didn't exercise enough," even though the advertisement claimed no exercise was needed. This is a red herring argument because the focus shifts from the inefficacy of the pills to your lack of exercise.
    • Celebrity Endorsement in Politics. "Vote for her; she's a great person!" even though the discussion is about her political qualifications. This is a political red herring fallacy because the focus shifts from her political qualifications to her character.
    • Homework Deadline. "You give us too much homework," when questioned about missing a specific deadline. While a common explanation, this is a red herring fallacy because it shifts the focus from the missed deadline to the amount of homework given.
    • Poor Grades. "But I'm the star player on the basketball team," when asked about receiving a 'C' in a class. This is a red herring fallacy because the athletic achievement distracts from the academic performance.
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    • What Is The Red Herring Fallacy?
    • What Is The Purpose of A Red Herring?
    • When Do People Use Red Herrings?
    • What Are Some Examples of A Red Herring?
    • Red Herring FAQs

    A red herring is a misleading statement, question, or argument meant to redirect a conversation away from its original topic. A red herring is notan actual species of fish. For a long time, the common explanation for this phrase was that a kipper, or a cured herring that becomes pungent and takes on red-colored flesh from the curing process, was us...

    The purpose of a red herring is to distract the reader or listener from the actual issue being discussed in a conversation or piece of writing. This isn’t always for nefarious purposes—sometimes, it’s a literary strategy used to keep readers in suspense. But for the purposes of this post, we’ll be focusing on the red herring fallacy as it’s used in...

    People use red herrings in nearly every kind of communication. These include the following: 1. Persuasive essays 2. Argumentative essays 3. Debates 4. Speeches 5. Conversations 6. Storytelling 7. Emails 8. Blog posts Sometimes, speakers and writers make red herring statements inadvertently, either because they genuinely think the statement they’re ...

    The red herring fallacy is similar to a few other fallacies. One similar fallacy, avoiding the issue, similarly moves an argument away from its original topic by introducing an irrelevant statement. Here’s an example: Person 1:“All restaurants should be required to list the calories of each dish on their menus.” Person 2:“Most of the restaurants in...

    What is a red herring logical fallacy?

    A red herring is a misleading statement, question, or argument meant to redirect a conversation away from its original topic.

    Is a red herring a literary device?

    Red herrings can be used by writers to keep their readers in suspense or surprise them with an unexpected outcome.

    How does it fit in with other logical fallacies?

    A red herring is an informal fallacy, which means that the flaw in the argument lies in the argument’s content rather than the structure of the argument itself.

    • Lindsay Kramer
  2. Apr 5, 2023 · A red herring fallacy is an attempt to redirect a conversation away from its original topic. A red herring is used by introducing an irrelevant piece of information that distracts the reader or listener. This can be intentional or unintentional.

    • What Aboutism. Scenario: A couple are arguing. One couple says “You never do the dishes!” The other says “What about you! You never take out the bins!”
    • Tone Policing. Scenario: A woman is arguing that she should get a payrise. Her boss responds that he won’t discuss her payrise until she stops being so shrill.
    • Climate Change. Scenario: One political party says we should do more in the USA about climate change. The other party says that we should try to get China to do more before the USA spends another dime on the issue.
    • “You Should Just be Grateful” Scenario: Women march for their rights on the streets. The Prime Minster of the country stands up in parliament and argues these women should be grateful they live in a country where they can protest peacefully.
  3. A Red Herring Fallacy occurs when someone introduces a point or idea that’s way off the trail from the discussion at hand. Think of it like being at a soccer match where everyone should be focused on the game, but suddenly someone starts talking about a totally different sport like badminton.

  4. In an argument, the red herring fallacy is used to divert the discussion away from the topic at hand and onto a different, unrelated topic. This could be done as a way to avoid admitting one’s own mistakes or weaknesses, or to discredit the opponent’s argument.

  5. Apr 4, 2021 · In logic and rhetoric, a red herring is an observation that draws attention away from the central issue in an argument or discussion; an informal logical fallacy. It is also called a "decoy."

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