Classic Fallacies
This fallacy involves attacking the person, not the argument.
Ad Hominem
This ad shows a sick puppy in need of adoption. How can you not donate after seeing this?
Appeal to Emotion
Everyone is buying this phone, so it must be the best one on the market.
Bandwagon.
You can’t possibly believe in the effectiveness of renewable energy; it’s been tried in other countries and failed!
Cherry-Picking (Selective Evidence)
It’s clear that this app must be great since it has millions of downloads.
Bandwagon (Ad Populum)
Sure, the company’s CEO has been arrested for embezzlement, but she’s the one who saved the company from bankruptcy last year. How can we blame her for this one mistake?
Appeal to Consequences (or the Appeal to Motivation)
Either you support this new law, or you don’t care about public safety.
False Dilemma
You shouldn’t listen to my opponent’s argument about climate change; after all, they’re not even a scientist.
Ad Hominem
There’s no proof that this new environmental policy will actually work, so it’s clearly a bad idea.
Fallacy Fallacy
A politician claims that a proposed tax cut will stimulate the economy, without offering any evidence or data.
The latest economic proposal might seem risky, but it’s based on the insights of some of the world’s top economists, like Nobel laureates and recognized scholars. What’s there to doubt?
Appeal to Authority
I read five success stories from people who took this supplement. It must work!
Cherry Picking
Since she’s never failed in business before, it’s clear her plan will succeed.
Hasty Generalization
You shouldn’t trust his argument about animal testing; he doesn’t even have pets!
Ad Hominem
You can’t be serious about protecting the environment if you drive a car.
Tu Quoque (Appeal to Hypocrisy)
You can’t argue that private schools are better than public schools; they’re only better for the wealthy.
Strawman
Don’t listen to her argument on school funding—she doesn’t even have kids.
Red Herring
The universe is too complex to have happened by chance, so it must have been created by a higher power.
False Cause
My uncle smoked his entire life and never got cancer, so smoking can’t be that dangerous.
Anecdotal Fallacy
This new proposal must be good for the economy because it will create so many jobs, and that’s what we need!
Correlation Proves Causation
I’ve never seen evidence that global warming is real, so it can’t be true.
Appeal to ignorance
You say my argument is flawed, but just because it has a fallacy doesn’t mean I’m wrong.
Fallacy Fallacy
If we ban cars today, we’ll inevitably have to regulate all forms of transportation, like bicycles and skateboards.
Slippery Slope
The law hasn’t been changed in decades—why change it now?
Appeal to tradition
We should build this new stadium; it’ll create thousands of jobs, and we could use a place to hold events.
False Cause (Correlation vs. Causation)