Common Communication Pitfalls
Explore by Category
Ad Hominem
Argumentum ad Hominem
Attack the person, not the argument
Straw Man
Attack a weaker version of the argument
False Dilemma
False Dichotomy
It's either A or B (ignoring C, D, E...)
Appeal to Fear
Argumentum ad Metum
Scare people into agreement
Appeal to Pity
Argumentum ad Misericordiam
Feel sorry for me, therefore I'm right
Red Herring
Look over there instead!
Whataboutism
But what about when they did...
Slippery Slope
A leads to B leads to disaster
False Cause
Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
Correlation equals causation
Circular Reasoning
Petitio Principii
A is true because A is true
Appeal to Authority
Argumentum ad Verecundiam
Experts say, therefore it's true
Bandwagon Fallacy
Argumentum ad Populum
Everyone believes it, so it's true
Cherry Picking
Show only favorable evidence
Survivorship Bias
Only counting the winners
Equivocation
Switching word meanings mid-argument
Loaded Question
Have you stopped beating your wife?
No True Scotsman
Moving the goalposts on definitions
Motte and Bailey
Retreat to safe ground when challenged
Gish Gallop
Flood with too many claims to refute
Kafkatrapping
Denial proves you're guilty