fallacy quiz

appeal to ignorance

thinking a claim is true (or false) because it can’t be proven true (or false)

ad hominem

making a personal attack against the person saying the argument, rather than directly addressing the issue

strawman fallacy

misrepresenting or exaggerating another person’s argument to make it easier to attack

bandwagon fallacy

thinking an argument must be true because it’s popular

naturalistic fallacy

believing something is good or beneficial just because it’s natural

cherry picking

only choosing a few examples that support your argument, rather than looking at the full picture

false dilemma

thinking there are only two possibilities when there may be other alternatives you haven’t considered

begging the question

making an argument that something is true by repeating the same thing in different words

appeal to tradition

believing something is right just because it’s been done around for a really long time

appeal to emotions

trying to persuade someone by manipulating their emotions (such as fear, anger, or ridicule) rather than making a rational case

shifting the burden of proof

thinking instead of proving your claim is true, the other person has to prove it’s false

appeal to authority

believing just because an authority or “expert” believes something then it must be true

red herring

when you change the subject to a topic that’s easier to attack

slippery slope

taking an argument to an exaggerated extreme (if A happens, z will happen)

correlation proves causation

believing that just because two things happen at the same time, that one must have caused the other

anecdotal evidence

thinking that just because something applies to you, that it must be true for most people

equivocation

using two different meanings of a word to prove your argument

non sequitur

implying a logical connection between two things that doesn’t exist

ecological fallacy

making an assumption about a specific person based on general tendencies within a group they belong to

fallacy fallacy

thinking just because a claim follows a logical fallacy that it must be false