Red Herring
Introducing an irrelevant topic to divert attention from the original issue. The name comes from the practice of using a smoked herring (which has a strong smell) to train hunting dogs to follow a scent — or to throw them off the trail.
Structure
- Topic A is under discussion
- Person B introduces Topic B (seemingly related but irrelevant)
- Discussion shifts to Topic B
- Topic A is never resolved
Examples
- A: “The senator’s voting record shows corruption.” B: “But what about the senator’s charitable work? They’ve helped thousands!”
- A: “This study has methodological flaws.” B: “The researchers are highly respected in their field.”
- A: “Your policy will increase costs.” B: “The previous administration increased costs even more!”
Common Variants
- Whataboutism / Tu Quoque: “You criticize X? What about Y?”
- Appeal to Hypocrisy: “You do it too, so your argument is invalid.”
- Changing the Subject: Pivoting to a topic where the speaker is stronger
How to Counter
- “That’s a separate issue. Let’s finish discussing the original point.”
- “I’m happy to discuss that later, but right now we’re talking about X.”
- “How does that address the specific criticism I raised?”
- “You’re dodging the question.”