Welcome back to my ongoing series on logical fallacies, also known as how to lose an argument while pretending you’re winning.
If you missed Part 1, we talked about straw men, slippery slopes, and circular arguments — the holy trinity of poor logic.
Now, let’s level up. Because once you start spotting these, you’ll hear them everywhere — in politics, group chats, and sometimes coming out of your own mouth if you’re not careful.
- The Ad Hominem Fallacy
This one is Latin for “let me insult you instead of addressing your point.”
When someone can’t beat your argument, they attack you instead.
Example:
You: “I think we should talk about how to improve our recycling program.”
Them: “Oh please, you drive an SUV. You don’t care about the environment.”
Notice what happened? The topic was recycling, not your car. They didn’t disprove your point, they just threw shade and hoped it would stick.
It’s the classic move in political debates and online comment sections. Why argue ideas when you can go straight for the character assassination, right?
It’s lazy, emotional, and honestly, kind of boring once you see through it.
A good counter is to calmly bring it back to the issue: “That’s not what we’re discussing. Do you have a point about recycling, or just my vehicle choices?”
- The False Dichotomy (a.k.a. The “It’s My Way or the Highway” Fallacy)
This is when someone presents only two options — their way and total chaos — as if no middle ground exists.
Example:
“You’re either with me or against me.”
No, Brenda, maybe I just disagree with you about the colour of the company logo. This isn’t a civil war.
Or this one:
“If we don’t raise taxes, the entire education system will collapse.”
Right — no chance we could reallocate funds, find efficiencies, or rethink spending priorities. It’s either ruin or revolution.
The false dichotomy is an easy way to box people in emotionally. It’s built for manipulation, not clarity. The truth almost always lives somewhere between the extremes, but extremes are louder and easier to tweet.
- The Appeal to Authority
This one happens when someone insists something must be true because an authority figure said it — no questions asked.
Example:
“Dr. Famous Expert says this diet works, so it must be healthy.”
Sure, but is Dr. Famous Expert sponsored by a protein powder company?
Appeals to authority can sound convincing because they borrow credibility, but they skip critical thinking.
Even experts get it wrong, and sometimes the loudest voices are just the most marketable.
The fix? Ask for the reasoning, not just the résumé.
“Yes, but what’s the actual evidence?” should be your default response when someone pulls this card.
- The Bandwagon Fallacy
This one fuels most social media trends and about half of bad policy decisions.
It argues that something is right or good simply because everyone else is doing it.
Example:
“Everyone’s buying crypto right now — you should too.”
Uh-huh, and everyone once owned a fidget spinner. How’s that working out?
Popularity doesn’t equal accuracy. Ten thousand people believing nonsense doesn’t turn it into fact — it just turns it into a louder kind of nonsense.
- The Red Herring
This is the conversational escape artist.
When someone feels cornered or uncomfortable, they throw in an unrelated point to distract you and change the topic.
Example:
You: “We need to talk about why sales are down.”
Them: “Well, at least our logo looks great.”
No, that’s not relevant. That’s a shiny red herring swimming away from accountability.
You’ll see this in politics all the time: asked about healthcare, someone suddenly talks about “protecting families.” That emotional pivot is the red herring’s specialty — getting you to chase the wrong issue.
A Quick Reality Check
We all use these sometimes. Fallacies sneak into speech the same way filler words do — they make us sound confident when we’re scrambling.
The point isn’t to become the fallacy police (nobody likes that person), but to recognize when reasoning goes off-track.
The real power is in slowing down your thinking. When someone argues a point, ask yourself:
Are they actually responding to what was said?
Are they oversimplifying?
Are they bringing up irrelevant stuff?
Are they assuming the crowd makes them right?
Key Takeaways
Ad Hominem: Attacking the person instead of the point.
False Dichotomy: Pretending there are only two options.
Appeal to Authority: Believing something’s true just because someone “important” said it.
Bandwagon: Believing it because everyone else does.
Red Herring: Changing the subject to dodge the issue.
Final Thought
The next time someone argues like a politician in a crisis, spot the fallacy, smile to yourself, and stay grounded in logic.
Because once you can see through manipulation, you can’t unsee it — and that’s when you start communicating from power instead of impulse.
Caronleid 