FALLACY EXAMPLES
Can you name the fallacies being committed here?
(Note: Some examples may have multiple fallacies)
1. “Ever wonder why Europeans seem to speak so many languages? Maybe
it’s because they use Babel, the number one selling language app in
Europe.”
2. “Newly unearthed comments made by Florida Democratic
gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum’s running mate raise serious
concerns about Gillum’s ever-mounting ties to blatant anti-Semitism.
Chris King said he was “nailed to the cross” by the editorial staff
of the Harvard Crimson in his failed attempt at becoming student
body president, noting that they were “largely Jewish.” King has
since apologized for the statement, saying that they don’t represent
his views then or now.
3. Brad: The economy seems to be doing great under President Trump
after his cutting of burdensome taxes and onerous regulations and
renegotiation of unfair trade agreements. It’s doing better than it
ever did under the Obama Administration.
Cassie: Oh yeah, well what about climate change?
4. Mike: Josh Fox’s movie “Gasland” blows the lid off the dangers of
hydraulic fracturing. It was even nominated for an Oscar. He has a
degree from Columbia and has written for Rolling Stone and The Daily
Beast. The man has bona fides.
Ted: He was a theater major and has no scientific background. He may
be a good writer and filmmaker but that doesn’t prove anything about
the legitimacy of his claims. I’ve seen evidence that some of them
are fraudulent in another film called FrackNation.
5. Canada and Mexico have both recently legalized recreational use
of marijuana on the national level. The U.S. should get with the
times and do it, too.
6. Sally: You shouldn’t cheat on that test, Bill. Cheating is wrong.
Bill: Don’t you have a “cheat day” for your diet? You cheat, too.
Everybody does it.
7. Nobody knows what it’s like to be in my position because nobody
knows what it’s like to be in my shoes, deal with what I have to
deal with, face what I have to face.
8. Jim: I’m on a new ketogenic intermittent fasting diet. New
scientific evidence shows that you lose more weight than the
traditional low-fat, carbohydrate-based diet.
Monica: They’re always changing their mind about what foods are good
for you or bad for you. Doctors used to say cigarettes are good for
your health! They used to say coffee was bad for you, now it’s good
for you. Carbs were good for you, then they were bad for you. Nobody
knows anything about what’s healthy and what’s not. I’m just going
to eat what I want.
9. Computers are just made up of a bunch of little switches that
read “on” or “off,” “1” or “0” I don’t see how they could become
conscious, no matter how they’re arranged.
10. Of course Alan Dershowitz defends Israel; he’s a Jew.