Red Herring
fallacy
Summary: Introduce an irrelevant point to distract.
Attention shifts to a side issue, derailing evaluation of the original claim or evidence.
Pattern prevalence
- Authors: top 0.9%, bottom 0.2%, overall 0.4%
- Publications: top 0.7%, bottom 0.6%, overall 0.4%
- Articles: top 8.8%, bottom 0%, overall 4.4%
Recent example
school in Moreno Valley police say. The teacher shares a six bedroom $1.2 million home in Eastville with her husband Willie The investigation into Watson’s alleged crimes
Recent articles
Married teacher from quiet SoCal suburb accused of several lewd acts with student 0%
California Post - By Jeremy Louwerse - 5/26/2026, 9:05 PM
Biased Writer Voice 68.2% - Unattributed Quote 42% - Pessimism Bias 24.8%
A married Southern California teacher was arrested for allegedly having inappropriate sexual relations with her students — and police believe there may be even more victims. Samantha J. Watson, of Eastvale in Riverside County, was booked into jail on Friday on charges of sending harmful material to a juvenile, oral copulation and digital... more
WATCH: Platner doesn't apologize to Purple Heart recipient, voters when confronted on post mocking soldier 17.3%
Fox News - By Andrew Mark Miller - 5/24/2026, 8:00 AM
Negativity Bias 29% - Biased Writer Voice 22% - Self-Serving Bias 18.3%
FIRST ON FOX: SULLIVAN, ME – Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner declined to apologize both to voters and a Purple Heart recipient when asked by Fox News Digital about a deleted Reddit post where he said the wounded soldier "didn’t deserve to live." Platner did not respond at first when asked outside a market near his home... more
Feds subpoena Hasan Piker, Medea Benjamin over Cuba trips 45.5%
Fox News - By Asra Q. Nomani - 5/24/2026, 12:25 AM
Biased Writer Voice 48.3% - Negativity Bias 41.4% - Framing Effect 29.1%
FIRST ON FOX: Federal officials have served subpoenas to Marxist political influencer Hasan Piker and CodePink cofounder Susan Medea Benjamin as part of a wider investigation into whether U.S. organizations and leaders violated U.S. laws and sanctions in supporting Cuba's communist regime, Fox News Digital has learned. Piker and Benjamin... more
JD Vance defends the Trump administration’s proposed DOJ “anti-weaponization fund” #shorts 88.2%
CBS News - 5/21/2026, 3:17 AM
Going back to the price tag for this DOJ fund, $1.8 billion. You have people that can't afford groceries, gas is high, people are making sacrifices in their personal lives to accommodate for this rise in prices. People are telling us that they feel financially worse off. They're very concerned about the uncertainty. How can you justify... more
Female NASCAR driver cries during shocking in-car meltdown, parks truck during race and rage-quits the series 39.6%
OutKick - By Zach Dean - 5/16/2026, 12:07 PM
Biased Writer Voice 38.6% - Negativity Bias 30.7% - Appeal to Emotion 17.9%
Natalie Decker parked her truck during Friday's race at Dover after just 81 laps after NASCAR black-flagged her for being too slow. That, of course, isn't the whole story. Not even close. Decker essentially rage-quit during the race, suffering one of the most stunning in-car meltdowns I have ever heard. And folks, I've heard A LOT over... more
The Elon Musk v Sam Altman battle is a distraction 74.1%
The Guardian - By Karen Hao - 5/14/2026, 11:00 AM
Negativity Bias 35.5% - Appeal to Emotion 24.9% - Biased Writer Voice 24.6%
If it wasn’t already clear, Elon Musk and Sam Altman hate each other. While the two men were once co-founders of OpenAI, they’re now locked in a vicious feud, playing out in all its theatrics in front of a judge and jury in a California courtroom. Musk is suing, alleging that Altman and OpenAI’s president, Greg Brockman, tricked him into... more
Patel, Van Hollen trade barbs over 'slinging margaritas' in heated Senate clash 31.9%
Fox News - By Brittany Miller - 5/13/2026, 12:06 AM
Negativity Bias 40% - Framing Effect 29.2% - Ambiguity (Equivocation) 20.2%
FBI Director Kash Patel and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., clashed in a heated Senate hearing Tuesday, trading personal accusations over allegations of misconduct and a past overseas trip. The exchange escalated from questions about Patel’s leadership into a direct confrontation, with Van Hollen citing allegations reported in The Atlantic... more
Agitators swarm hotel believed to house FBI Director Kash Patel 44.6%
Fox News - By Julia Bonavita - 5/12/2026, 9:54 AM
Framing Effect 35.5% - Availability Heuristic 23.3% - Negativity Bias 18.2%
A swarm of agitators descended on the Oregon hotel where FBI Director Kash Patel was believed to be staying while attending a friend’s funeral over the weekend. Video circulating on social media shows the crowd shouting as they convened outside the Sentinel Hotel in downtown Portland on Saturday night. The group arrived to protest what... more
Xi's anti-corruption crackdown sentences former Chinese defense ministers to death 12.6%
Fox News - By Emma Bussey - 5/11/2026, 9:44 PM
Ambiguity (Equivocation) 19.5% - Pessimism Bias 17.9% - Negativity Bias 15.1%
Two former Chinese defense ministers have been sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for corruption, in one of the most severe punishments handed down to senior military officials in recent years. Reuters reported that Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu received the suspended death sentences on May 7 following graft convictions by China’s... more
St. Louis mayor fiercely defends City Hall’s tornado recovery: ‘I'm very proud’ 34.4%
STLPR - 5/11/2026, 10:00 AM
Ambiguity (Equivocation) 13.3% - Appeal to Authority 12.2% - Self-Serving Bias 10.5%
As the May 16 tornado bore down on the area last year, tornado sirens failed to sound in St. Louis. Soon, it became clear that wasn’t the only thing that had gone wrong. News outlets widely reported the impact of President Donald Trump’s call to eliminate FEMA. Nearly a year later, debris still covers much of north St. Louis, where the... more