Red Herring

A Red Herring is a logical fallacy that occurs when an argument introduces an irrelevant topic or distraction in order to divert attention away from the original issue. The goal of a Red Herring is to lead the audience away from the core argument, often making it easier to avoid addressing a difficult or uncomfortable issue.

Example 1:

Argument: "We shouldn't worry about the environment right now. Look at how much crime is rising in our cities!"
This is a Red Herring because the argument shifts focus from the environmental concerns to the issue of crime, which may be important, but is irrelevant to the original discussion about the environment.

Example 2:

Argument: "Sure, I failed the exam, but my teacher is always so unfair, and he never explains things clearly."
Here, the focus shifts from the person’s failure on the exam to an irrelevant criticism of the teacher’s teaching style, which distracts from the actual issue of why the exam was failed.

Example 3:

Argument: "I know we’re talking about healthcare reform, but don’t you think we should be more concerned about our national security? The country is under threat from other nations."
This is a Red Herring because it introduces the unrelated topic of national security to divert attention from the healthcare reform discussion, avoiding the issue at hand.

Why it’s a fallacy:

The Red Herring fallacy is misleading because it attempts to distract from the real issue by shifting the conversation to an irrelevant topic. A valid argument should focus on the main point and address the relevant facts, rather than introducing unrelated concerns to evade the core issue.