Attack on reputation

Undermine the credibility of a person/group/experience by focusing on their character or past actions instead of dealing with the actual issue. 

Name calling: use negative labels or insults to belittle someone or something, aiming to influence opinions by creating a bad impression. 

Example: "My opponent is a flip-flop man who cannot make up his mind. He changes mind with the breeze! How could anyone follow such a weak-willed flip-flopper?”

Guilt by association: try to make someone seem bad or untrustworthy by linking them to a disliked person, group, concept, or action. It affects opinions by suggesting they share the same negative traits. 

Example: "Only one kind of person can think in that way: a communist.”

Casting doubt: make people question or distrust something or someone by suggesting there might be problems or uncertainties, without giving supporting evidence. 

Example: "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.”

Appeal to hypocrisy: point out someone's inconsistency or contradictory behaviour to distract from the main issue, suggesting they are not credible. 

Example: "How can you demand that I eat less meat to reduce my carbon footprint if you yourself drive a big SUV and fly for holidays to Bali?”

Questioning the reputation: make people doubt someone's trustworthiness or character by highlighting past mistakes or negative behaviour.

Example: "I hope I presented my argument clearly. Now, my opponent will attempt to refute my argument by his own fallacious, incoherent, illogical version of history"

Justification

Give reasons or explanations to make an action, decision, or opinion seem reasonable and acceptable. 

Flag waving: make people doubt someone's trustworthiness or character by highlighting past mistakes or negative behaviour. 

Example: "Entering this war will make us have a better future in our country.”

Appeal to authority: use the opinion of an authority, expert, or important figure to support a claim, suggesting it must be true because they endorse it. 

Example: "If Napoleon said so it must be true then.”

Appeal to popularity: argue that something is true or good because many people believe or do it, suggesting widespread acceptance is proof of its value or correctness.

Example: "Because everyone else goes away to college, it must be the right thing to do.”

Appeal to values: persuade by connecting an idea or action to the audience's core beliefs or morals, suggesting they should agree because it aligns with what they care about. 

Example: "It’s standard practice to pay men more than women so we’ll continue adhering to the same standards this company has always followed.”

Appeal to fear/prejudice: persuade by making people afraid of potential dangers or by exploiting existing biases, urging them to agree or act to prevent something bad from happening. 

Example. "Either we go to war or we will perish.” [this is also the False Dilemma fallacy]

Simplification

Break down complicated issues into easy-to-understand terms, often leaving out details, to influence what people think or decide. 

Causal oversimplification: explain a complex issue by attributing it to a single cause, ignoring other contributing factors and making the problem seem simpler than it is. 

Example: "School violence has gone up and academic performance has gone down since video games featuring violence were introduced. Therefore, video games with violence should be banned, resulting in school improvement."

False dilemma or no choice: present a situation as having only two options, ignoring other possibilities, to force a particular choice or viewpoint. 

Example: "Either we raise new taxes, or the roads will become unusable.”

Consequential oversimplification (slippery slope): argue that a small first step will lead to a chain of related events with significant and negative outcomes, often without evidence for such consequences. 

Example: “I really should not eat this slice of pizza because if I do I’ll probably lose all control and go off my diet, and then I’ll keep gaining weight and eventually get diabetes”.

Call

Encourage the audience to take specific action or adopt a viewpoint by urging or inviting them directly. This approach prompts immediate engagement or response. 

Slogans: use catchy and memorable phrases to simplify a message and influence people’s attitudes or actions, often by appealing to emotions. 

Example: "Our 'unity in diversity' contrasts with the divisions everywhere else.”

Conversation killer: a statement or question that shuts down dialogue and ends discussion abruptly, often by making others uncomfortable or by rejecting further input. 

Example: "You can’t change human nature."

Appeal to time (Kairos): emphasises urgency or the importance of acting quickly to persuade others, suggesting that immediate action is necessary before it's too late. 

Loaded language: use emotionally charged words to influence an audience's feelings and attitudes, often swaying opinion without presenting clear evidence. 

Example: "They keep feeding these people with trash. They should stop."

Obfuscation: make information confusing or unclear on purpose to hide the truth and prevent understanding or scrutiny. 

Example: "The significance of the passage of time, right? The significance of the passage of time. So when you think about it, there is great significance to the passage of time."

Maximisation or minimisation: exaggerate or downplay aspects of a situation to influence perception, making something seem more or less important than it actually is. 

Example: "Why did you fight her? I was not fighting with her; we were just playing."

Repetition: repeatedly present a message or idea to make it more familiar and memorable, increasing the likelihood of acceptance. 

Example: "Stupid people are so annoying. They prove their stupidity by saying stupid things.”

Back                Use detection tool