Red Herring Fallacy

A red herring fallacy occurs when a misleading argument or question is presented to distract from the main issue or argument at hand. This diversion is often used to avoid addressing the actual topic or to shift the focus to an unrelated issue. To spot a red herring fallacy, pay attention to arguments that seem to wander... See more

Burden of Proof Fallacy

The burden of proof fallacy occurs when someone claims that something is true and insists that it’s the responsibility of others to disprove it, rather than providing evidence to support their own assertion. This faulty reasoning can be used to support a weak argument, but it’s important to recognize when it happens to avoid... See more

Appeal to Authority

The appeal to authority fallacy occurs when you rely too heavily on the opinion of a single person, especially if that person is trying to validate something outside of their expertise. A claim is considered true simply because an authority figure made it. This authority figure could be anyone from an instructor to a politician,... See more

distorting an opposing position into an extreme version of itself and then arguing against that extreme version. In creating a straw man argument, the arguer strips the opposing point of view of any nuance and often misrepresents it in a negative light.

Ad Ignorantiam (Appeal to Ignorance) Fallacy

The Ad Ignorantiam fallacy, also known as an appeal to ignorance, occurs when someone argues that something is true or false simply because it hasn’t been proven one way or the other. This type of fallacy is flawed and leads to unsupported conclusions due to the lack of contrary evidence.