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Strawman Fallacy: Examples and Repercussions

July 19, 2021

The internet is sadly full of strawman fallacy examples. In contrast to the Bandwagon fallacy, and partly like the Appeal to Hypocrisy fallacy, the person committing the strawman fallacy is usually aware they are doing so. That is, one resorts to strawman arguments to ameliorate their otherwise weak argument. However, this isn’t set in stone. In other words, it’s possible for someone to commit the strawman fallacy inadvertently.

Regardless of the motive, this is a particularly widespread and unfortunately insidious fallacy. Some well-crafted iterations of it can be truly misleading, giving the impression of a solid argument. It’s important, then, to learn to recognize it. This is precisely what we’ll do in this post, as we’ll take a closer look at some strawman fallacy examples, definitions, and ways to counter its use.

strawman fallacy examples
Fields are full of straw, and the internet is full of strawman fallacy examples
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Unintended Misinformation: Dynamics and Dangers

March 4, 2020

A mythological king was once asked what was his most precious asset: his health, his army, his wealth, or his offspring. “Information!” he said. “Give me information, and I can easily get back the rest”. Of course, information also comes with misinformation. And unintended misinformation, in particular, can be a very insidious, dangerous concept.

Unlike fake news or intentional propaganda, unintended misinformation neither involves malice nor has ulterior motives. Those spreading misinformation aren’t aware they’re doing so. Instead, they believe they’re helping (either a cause or the general dissemination of knowledge).

But, as I mentioned above, unintended misinformation can be an insidious process, causing significant damage and having far-reaching repercussions. The problem, as we’ll see in more detail below, lies precisely in its lack of intention or malice. Put simply, its dynamics are such that preclude detection of the misinformation until it has effectively displaced the truth.

Unintended Misinformation
Once the door of unintended misinformation is opened, it’s very hard to close it
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Digital Dehumanization: the Dark Side of the Internet

January 15, 2019

The term digital dehumanization might sound obscure. It surely sounds bad, and referring to the dark side of the internet makes it worse. But what do we mean by digital dehumanization, and what does the internet have to do with it?

The term dehumanization refers to the process of depriving a person or a group of persons the qualities of being human. Take a look at my article on zombies and dehumanization. I wrote back then:

The thoroughly disturbing aspect in all this is the concept of Dehumanization. If you’re interested, read Jonathan Glover’s Humanity: A Moral History of the 20th Century to see how it works. Basically, you convince a group of people – normal, everyday people like you and me – that another group of people are not really humans. Then, it becomes far easier to convince the first group to turn on the second. This is how the Holocaust happened, this is how Hiroshima happened, this is how My Lai, Bosnia, and Rwanda happened.

Let’s begin to unpack the process of digital dehumanization – a dehumanization process occurring digitally, on the internet – with a little hypothetical scenario. It will perhaps set up the tone for today’s article.

digital dehumanization
Digital dehumanization is about not seeing the person behind the mask of the internet
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