Red Herring

What is Red Herring?

Red herring is something intended to mislead or distract from the main issue. When someone commits a red herring fallacy, they distract from the main issue or argument with something irrelevant.

Example

Child: “Why can’t I go out with my friends tonight?” Parent: “Because you should be focusing on your studies. If not you will be a failure.”

This is a red herring because instead of addressing the real issue (whether the child should go out or study), the child changes the topic to the parent’s education, which is irrelevant to the argument at hand.