Fallacy Finder
Dedicated fallacy page
🥅
Informal fallacy
Moving the Goalposts
Changes the standard of proof or success after the original standard has been met.
Definition
Changes the standard of proof or success after the original standard has been met.
Example
After the study answers the first objection, the critic says the result only counts if three more unrelated conditions are met.
Extended explanation
How to think about it:
Changes the standard of proof or success after the original standard has been met. In practice, the key question is whether the conclusion is supported by evidence and logic, or whether it depends on this reasoning shortcut instead.
Related entries
Related by logic, rhetoric, or real-world co-occurrence
These suggestions are ranked using a hybrid score that combines curated links, shared families, wording similarity, and any saved-analysis pairings the app has observed.
🛡️
No True Scotsman
Common
Logically close
Often paired
Same family
Protects a general claim by redefining the group whenever a counterexample appears.
🎟️
Special Pleading
Common
Logically close
Same family
Often confused
Applies standards selectively, carving out an exception when the rule becomes inconvenient.
🏰
Motte and Bailey
Logically close
Same family
Often confused
Retreats to a safer, easier claim when challenged, then returns to the stronger controversial claim once the pressure passes.
🫖
Kettle Logic
Logically close
Same family
Similar wording
Uses mutually inconsistent defenses all at once, hoping one of them will stick.
⚖️
Burden of Proof
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Shifts responsibility for proving a claim onto other people instead of supporting it directly.
🌑
Appeal to Ignorance
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Claims something is true or false simply because it has not been proven otherwise.
🥺
Appeal to Pity
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Treats sympathy or compassion as if it were evidence that a claim is true or justified.
🏛️
Appeal to Authority
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Treats a claim as true mainly because an authority figure or expert said it, without enough supporting evidence.
⭕
Begging the Question
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Builds the conclusion into the premise, so the argument assumes what it is trying to prove.
🔄
Circular Reasoning
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Restates the conclusion in different words instead of supplying independent support for it.
🪞
Equivocation
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Switches the meaning of a key word or phrase in the middle of an argument.
❓
Loaded Question
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Asks a question that smuggles in an unproven assumption.
👥
Argumentum ad Populum
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Treats popularity or public approval as evidence that a claim is true.
🧱
Composition Fallacy
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Assumes that what is true of the parts must also be true of the whole.
🧩
Division Fallacy
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Assumes that what is true of the whole must also be true of each part.
🪤
Fallacy Fallacy
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Assumes a claim must be false merely because the argument for it was weak or fallacious.
🧱
Fallacy of Composition and Division
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Improperly transfers a property from parts to the whole, or from the whole to the parts.
📉
Faulty Generalization
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Draws a broad rule or conclusion from too little, too narrow, or unrepresentative evidence.
🤨
Personal Incredulity
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Treats something as false simply because it seems hard to imagine, understand, or believe.
🪙
Sunk Cost Fallacy
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Keeps defending or continuing something mainly because time, money, or effort has already been spent on it.
↩️
Tu Quoque
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Responds to criticism by accusing the critic of similar behavior instead of addressing the criticism.
🧭
Appeal to Consequences
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Treats desirable or undesirable consequences as proof that a claim itself is true or false.
🏺
Appeal to Tradition
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Claims something is correct or preferable mainly because it has long been done that way.
📣
Argument from Repetition
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Repeats a claim so often that the repetition itself is used to make it feel true.
📏
Continuum Fallacy
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Claims a distinction is meaningless just because the boundary between cases is gradual or fuzzy.
⚗️
Incomplete Comparison
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Makes a comparison without stating what the thing is being compared against or by which standard.
🕰️
Retrospective Determinism
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Looks back at past events as if the outcome had been inevitable all along.
🌫️
Ambiguity
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Relies on vague or slippery wording that can be taken in more than one way.
🚩
Bandwagon
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Urges acceptance of a claim because many people supposedly already accept it.
🧬
Genetic Fallacy
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Judges a claim by where it came from rather than by the quality of the claim itself.
🤝
Middle Ground
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Assumes the compromise position must be correct simply because it sits between two extremes.
🌾
Strawman
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Misrepresents an opposing view so it becomes easier to dismiss.
🎯
Texas Sharpshooter
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Cherry-picks a pattern or cluster after the fact while ignoring the larger body of evidence.
🛑
Appeal to Force
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Uses threats, coercion, or the prospect of punishment in place of actual reasons.
🎲
Appeal to Probability
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Assumes that because something could happen or seems likely, it therefore will happen.
🧩
Bad Reason Fallacy
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Offers reasons that do not actually justify the conclusion being claimed.
🍒
Cherry Picking
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Selects only the evidence that supports a conclusion while ignoring relevant evidence that points the other way.
✂️
Fallacy of Quoting Out of Context
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Pulls words from their surrounding context so they appear to mean something different.
⚠️
False Analogy
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Treats two things as more alike than they really are, using a weak comparison to support the conclusion.
⚖️
False Equivalence
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Treats two things as morally, logically, or practically equivalent when the differences matter.
📉
Hasty Generalization
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Jumps from a small or unrepresentative sample to a sweeping conclusion.
🎯
Ignoratio Elenchi
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Presents reasons that may sound relevant but do not actually answer the point at issue.
⏱️
Post Hoc
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Assumes that because one thing happened after another, the first thing must have caused the second.
🧵
Proof by Verbosity
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Uses a flood of words, complexity, or detail to create the impression of proof without actually proving the point.
📣
Proving Too Much
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Uses reasoning that, if accepted, would justify far more than the speaker likely intends.
🗿
Reification
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Treats an abstract idea or label as if it were a concrete thing with independent existence.
👤
Ad Hominem
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Attacks the person making the argument instead of addressing the argument itself.
🗣️
Anecdotal
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Uses a personal story or isolated example as if it were enough to prove a broad claim.
💥
Appeal to Emotion
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Pushes the audience toward a conclusion by provoking emotion rather than giving solid reasons.
🌿
Appeal to Nature
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Assumes something is good, right, or safer simply because it is called natural.
📚
Etymological Fallacy
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Assumes a word’s current meaning or truth is determined by its historical origin.
🔗
False Cause & False Attribution
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Treats two things as causally connected, or assigns credit or blame, without enough evidence.
🎰
Gambler's Fallacy
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Assumes past random outcomes make a different future outcome more likely, even when events are independent.
🐟
Red Herring
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Introduces a distraction that pulls attention away from the main issue.
🛝
Slippery Slope
Common
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Claims a relatively small first step will inevitably trigger a chain of extreme consequences.
😨
Appeal to Fear
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Leans on fear or alarm to drive acceptance of a claim instead of supporting it with sound reasoning.
😏
Appeal to Ridicule
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Mocks a position to make it seem false instead of actually refuting it.
🏷️
False Attribution
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Assigns a statement, motive, source, or cause to the wrong person or factor.
🕵️
Furtive Fallacy
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Assumes hidden intent, secret coordination, or deliberate design without sufficient evidence.
🕸️
Guilt by Association
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Dismisses a person or claim by linking it to someone or something disliked rather than addressing the reasoning itself.
🔥
Inflation of Conflict
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Presents a disagreement as a dramatic clash when the actual gap may be smaller or more nuanced.
✨
Nirvana Fallacy
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Rejects a realistic option because it is not perfect, comparing it unfairly to an idealized alternative.
☠️
Poisoning the Well
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Discredits a person in advance so that anything they say is dismissed before it is even considered.
💬
Shotgun Argumentation
Same family
Similar wording
Same category
Throws out many weak points at once so they become difficult to answer individually.
🚪
False Dilemma
Common
Same family
Same category
Frames a situation as if there were only two options when more possibilities exist.
🔗
False Cause
Same family
Same category
Treats two things as causally connected without enough evidence that one really caused the other.
🔁
Affirming the Consequent
Similar wording
Treats a result as proof of a particular cause, even though the same result could follow from other causes too.
4️⃣
Four-Term Fallacy
Similar wording
Uses a syllogism with four terms instead of three, often because a key term shifts meaning.
↪️
Denying the Antecedent
Similar wording
Assumes that if a condition is absent, the outcome must also be absent, even though the outcome could still arise in other ways.
📏
Illicit Major
Similar wording
Draws a syllogistic conclusion that distributes the major term more broadly than the premises allow.
📐
Illicit Minor
Similar wording
Draws a syllogistic conclusion that distributes the minor term more broadly than the premises allow.
∴
Propositional Fallacies
Similar wording
A broader label for invalid moves in propositional logic where the conclusion does not validly follow from the premises.
📚
Syllogistic Fallacies
Similar wording
Uses a broken syllogism or category relationship so the conclusion does not logically follow.
🔺
Undistributed Middle
Similar wording
Uses a shared middle term in a syllogism without properly connecting the categories, so the conclusion does not follow.
🔢
Quantification Fallacies
Misuses words like all, some, or none so the conclusion goes beyond what the premises support.