Red herring

A red herring is an argument that aims to divert attention by bringing in irrelevant distractions or unrelated arguments. The term’s origin is thought to come from the use of strong-smelling fish to train scent hounds. The smell would divert the dog’s attention from the original scent it was meant to track. 

Politicians across the globe are particularly fond of using red herrings to distract from difficult issues. For example, a politician or political group may complain that they’ve been badly insulted or subjected to discrimination to distract from an unpopular policy decision, or they may bring up an opponent’s historical scandal when they’re embroiled in their own scandal. 

How to spot a red herring 

• Determine the main argument. What is the issue being discussed? Are the responses about the central argument? 

• Assess relevance. Does the diversion relate directly to the issue or provide meaningful evidence? 

For example, in a debate about climate change, a politician might avoid addressing carbon emissions by talking about how “job creation is more important right now”. This is a red herring because it shifts focus from the topic (climate action) to a different issue (employment). 

A similar example might be a political debate on employment where another politician says: “We cannot consider employment issues when the world is on fire and there will be no planet for people to be employed on.”