Distraction
Techniques that move attention away from the question being asked.
638 instances recorded across 3 techniques.
Techniques in this category
| Technique | Instances |
|---|---|
| Straw Man Restating an opponent's position in a weaker or distorted form, then refuting the distortion. | 57 |
| Red Herring Introducing material irrelevant to the question at hand, so that attention moves off the weak point. | 271 |
| Whataboutism Answering criticism by pointing at someone else's wrongdoing rather than addressing the criticism. | 310 |
Recent examples
"Earlier, the US and Japan joined the Philippines in maritime exercises in the South China Sea in five-day drills from Jul 21 to 25, and in May, the Philippines and the US conducted the Balikatan exercise."
Introduces prior military activities by the Philippines and its allies not to provide context but to deflect from the nature of China’s current drills, implying equivalence or greater culpability elsewhere to justify or downplay China’s own military posturing.
Exclusive: Type 071 amphibious transport dock, H-6K bombers involved in PLA’s drills around Huangyan Dao; move aimed at countering series of Philippine activities: experts"But who did Israel agree the ceasefire with? Yes, Hamas."
Shifts focus from the alleged ceasefire violations by Israel to the identity of the party with which the ceasefire was made, implying that targeting members of Hamas—even without evidence—undermines the need to call out violations, thus deflecting from the core issue of compliance.
Israel is not 'testing' its ceasefires. It's violating them"The CCP does not allow U.S. telecom companies into China"
Deflects from the issue of Chinese firms operating in the U.S. by pointing to reciprocal exclusion in China, shifting focus to perceived unfairness rather than addressing the specific security claims at hand.
Congress Warns China ‘Deeply Embedded in the U.S. Internet Ecosystem’"White House blasts Spanish government as thousands of migrants surge from Morocco, emergency request denied"
The headline introduces a political counter-accusation (White House criticism of Spain) that shifts focus from the situation in Ceuta and Morocco’s role to U.S. domestic political blame. This deflects scrutiny from broader systemic factors by redirecting attention to intergovernmental disputes, without engaging with root causes or humanitarian dimensions.
Ceuta migrant surge exposes Spain-Morocco tensions as Islamist groups reportedly seek to exploit border crisis"Just as The Atlantic’s now-editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was rewarded for his lies attempting to tie Saddam Hussien to 9/11 in the run-up to the Iraq War..."
Introduces a historical comparison to the Iraq War media failures, which, while thematically related, diverts focus from the specific hiring decision at '60 Minutes' to a broader critique of media reward systems, diluting the immediate argument.
Bari Weiss’s “60 Minutes” Hires Producer Who Downplayed Gaza Starvation, Justified Killing Journalists"scapegoating Beijing will never fix their own domestic ailments"
The statement diverts attention from any specific critique of China by shifting focus to the domestic problems of Western countries, thereby introducing an irrelevant issue to deflect criticism.
Trendy China | China's growth makes the "pie" bigger