posted September 17, 2025 02:09 PM            

Ad Hominem Attacks: Instead of addressing your argument, they attack you personally. They might call you names, question your intelligence, or bring up irrelevant personal details to undermine your credibility.

Whataboutism: This is a specific form of changing the subject. They respond to your critique by pointing to something negative about the opposing side, or a different historical event, to deflect from the current issue. For example, if you bring up a specific policy, they might respond with, "Well, what about when [the other party] did something similar?"

Straw Man Argument: This involves misrepresenting your position to make it easier to attack. They create a "straw man" version of your argument—a distorted, weaker version—and then tear that down, making it seem like they've defeated your actual point.

Appealing to Emotion (Pathos): Instead of using logic or evidence, they might try to evoke a strong emotional response, like fear or anger, to distract from the facts of the matter. This can bypass rational thought and make it difficult to continue the discussion logically.

Gish Gallop: This is when someone rapidly throws out a large number of weak or misleading arguments in a short period. It's designed to overwhelm you, making it impossible to address each point individually, and forcing you to appear as if you have no response.