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Explore the pitfalls of the appeal to popularity fallacy and how it distorts rational discourse. Learn to discern truth from mere popularity through critical thinking and evidence-based analysis.
Unveiling the Appeal to Ignorance Fallacy: Delve into the subtle yet potent adversary of sound reasoning. Learn how this fallacy exploits gaps in knowledge, perpetuates misinformation, and hampers critical thinking. Discover strategies to counter it and foster rational discourse.
A federal judge has ordered the release of documents that will identify scores of accused sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s associates. The order has led many social media users to share a digitally manipulated image that purports to show Vice President Kamala Harris posing with Epstein. The original photo showed Harris with her husband, Douglas Emhoff.
It’s not known what sparked the wildfires in Maui, although some evidence points to downed power lines. The conditions were ripe for fire, as large amounts of invasive grasses were dry due to drought and high winds helped to rapidly spread flames. Bogus posts on social media, however, are baselessly claiming the fires were intentionally set.
Immigrants who come to the U.S. without authorization have very limited access to government benefits. But an old falsehood revived by conservatives conflates aid given to authorized refugees with the limited assistance available to immigrants who entered the country illegally. The claim also inflates the benefits given to refugees.
The nearly 50 migrants Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flew from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard in September were later moved to a shelter at a military base several miles away in Massachusetts. After that, most of them found housing in other parts of the state.
In a clip from Fox News’ coverage of the Georgia Senate runoff, the vote tallies for both candidates briefly drop by thousands of votes. Social media posts use the clip to falsely claim election fraud. The Associated Press, which provided the data to Fox, said the clip shows a brief overestimate of votes caused by human error.
Florida law allows election officials to start counting early in-person and mail-in ballots before Election Day. But social media posts falsely claim Florida counted all of its more than 7 million votes in five hours on Election Day and states that took longer committed “voter fraud.” Most states don’t allow vote counting to begin until Election Day or after polls close.
Every Democrat – and some Republicans – increased funding earlier this year for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency charged with deporting those living in the country illegally. The Biden administration has directed ICE to prioritize the deportation of immigrants in the country illegally who have committed serious felonies. Nonetheless, an ad from a conservative group misleadingly claims that “every Senate Democrat voted against deporting criminal illegal immigrants.”
The arrest of a CEO whose company maintained poll worker data for Los Angeles County has sparked a wave of false voter fraud claims. County District Attorney George Gascón has said that the “alleged conduct had no impact on the tabulation of votes and did not alter election results.”
The overall increase in fentanyl seized at the southwest border under President Joe Biden is nowhere near as high as a Republican ad misleadingly claims. U.S. border officials seized 13,021 pounds of the drug in Biden’s first full 15 months in office, which is 70% more than the 7,677 pounds seized in Donald Trump’s last full 15 months as president.
Dozens of people stayed at a Florida hotel in January while employed as temporary farmworkers for a wholesale plant nursery. But a Facebook video and a tweet by State Rep. Anthony Sabatini falsely claimed they were “illegals” — sparking a protest outside the hotel. Attorneys for the nursery said all of them had visas to work in the U.S.
Sen. Tom Cotton falsely equated the nearly 2 million apprehensions of immigrants attempting to illegally cross the southern border during Joe Biden’s presidency to “adding the entire population of Nebraska to this country.” He’s wrong for several reasons, including that most of those apprehended were immediately turned around.
An audit of ballots and a forensic audit of voting equipment earlier this year found no problems in the 2020 elections in Maricopa County, Arizona. But debunked claims about voter fraud revealed by secret “watermarks” are flowing again on social media amid a Republican-led audit. County officials say no watermarks were used on the ballots.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey exaggerated the rise in people trying to cross the southern border illegally under President Joe Biden, when he said there has been a “460% spike in illegal apprehensions.”
Democrats and Republicans are pointing fingers over an increase in illegal immigration at the southern border, and notably an increase in children traveling alone.
Q: Did NPR report that a study found “over 25 million Hillary Clinton votes were completely fraudulent,” and that she “actually lost the popular vote”?
A: No. That claim was made in a story that conflates a 2012 article about inaccuracies in voter registration rolls with actual fraudulent votes.
White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller doubled down on President Trump’s unsupported claim that thousands of voters were bused in from Massachusetts to vote illegally in New Hampshire.
Donald Trump said he’s worried about a “rigged” general election, citing “precincts where there were practically nobody voting for the Republican” in 2012. Voting experts said such outcomes in certain urban districts were entirely plausible given the demographics.
