Spotting the Switch

Red herrings come in several disguises:

• Whataboutism — "What about the other side's problems?" deflects criticism without addressing it
• Appeal to accomplishment — listing unrelated achievements instead of answering the charge
• Emotional flooding — sharing a tearful personal story to make people forget the argument
• Scope creep — gradually widening the topic until the original point drowns in complexity

The test is simple: does this response actually address the claim being made? If not, you have found a red herring, no matter how compelling the diversion feels.