A Critical Thinker’s Guide to COVID-19 Fallacies
There is a LOT of lousy reasoning going on these days. I highly recommend taking the time to study, review, and sharpen your critical thinking skills; otherwise, you can easily fall prey to propaganda, bad arguments, and weak reasoning.
I offer this general Guide to help you hone your critical thinking skills. The following list isn't meant to be definitive. Knowing the names of the fallacies is not essential. What is vital is to sharpen your skills to recognize flawed arguments when you encounter them and not make them yourself.
A fallacy is an error in thinking and reasoning. It happens when we draw conclusions based upon false information, an unsound argument, or faulty premises. Never forget that everyone is trying to convince you of something, be it this post, the news, a conspiracy theory, a link, a YouTube video, a government official, the CDC, or those near and dear to you. There is something within us that wants to bring others around to our point of view. We are all, everyone, evangelists and proselytizers.
I'll try to focus on the primary fallacies I am encountering consistently during this time. There are more fallacies than are listed here, but they all share one common trait - lazy thinking. For fun, I'm going to make up my own names based upon current affairs.
So here goes:
#1. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 "𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒆𝒃𝒔" 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒚:
"You shouldn't watch or read XYZ because it has been debunked. I know it's been debunked because I have 15 links to websites and YouTube videos that prove it is propaganda. You do not need to check out the evidence for yourself because the length of my links proves its refutation."
Truth: You have a right to examine information for yourself and make your own determination whether XYZ is garbage or not.
#2. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 "𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈" 𝒐𝒓 "𝒃𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈" 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒚:
"Shame on you for watching or reading or believing XYZ!" "Only stupid people believe that." "How could you be so gullible?" "I don't want to associate with you because you posted/believed/promoted XYZ."
Truth: Don't let people shame or bully you into closing your mind. Just because you are curious about XYZ and watch or read it, doesn't make you a bad person or mean you are going to believe it.
#3. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 "𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒐 𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒆" 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒚:
This one is becoming more and more popular. There is something about this fallacy that has bite. It's a form of the shaming/bullying fallacy. No one wants to be thought of as stupid or gullible. The pressure to dismiss something or someone that has the label "conspiracy theory" is potent.
Truth: A theory is an attempt to explain all the facts. A theory is solid if it makes sense. If the facts do not support the idea, it is likely, the theory is not valid.
A conspiracy means "to breath together." It happens when two or more people make secret plans to do something harmful, unlawful, or illegal.
A conspiracy theory is an explanation of how a secret but influential organization is responsible for a circumstance or event.
A conspiracy theory can be conspiratorial and yet still be true. If it accounts for all or most of the facts, it might actually be true. Don’t let people convince you something is false because it has been categorized as a conspiracy theory.
#4. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 "𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒐 𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆" 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒚:
This is equally dangerous. For some, the more off-center something is, the more likely it is true.
Truth: Those of us who do not believe the mainstream narrative must be aware of our tendency to gravitate toward a theory just because it is not the official narrative.
#5. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 "𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔" 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒚:
"You are not an expert so be quiet. Your job is to listen, obey, and be quiet.”
Truth: You have the right to question authorities even if they have a "Dr." before their name or a "Ph.D. after. You should not just doubt authority automatically. There is good reason to believe an authority on any given subject, but they still could be wrong. It’s okay to be skeptical of the experts especially if they have something to gain such as political power, prestige, or money. It is wise to be aware of authorities, especially governmental officials, who may have a conflict of interest such as ownership in a Pharmaceutical company that stands to profit on COVID-19.
#6. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 "𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚" 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒚:
I've heard people say they unfriend anyone who even mentions a conspiracy theory. It reminds me of when I was a child. When someone was saying something we didn't like we would cover our ears and yell "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" so we couldn't hear them. Are people so afraid of a controversial point of view that even hearing it will somehow contaminate them? My experience is that secure people are not afraid or intimidated by opposing points of view.
Truth: Keep an open mind. If someone advances an idea that rubs you the wrong way, investigate it for yourself. Even argue against it. Perhaps you might change someone's mind or change your mind. Narrow and close-mindedness accomplishes nothing.
#7. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 "𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 '𝑿𝒀𝒁'" 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒚:
This one scares me. I see a growing paranoia, even hostility against those who think differently. It is a form of "guilt by association" fallacy. I've been tacitly blamed for harassment of health care workers because I do not accept the official narrative. Some hint that because I ask questions or criticize, I am responsible for others getting sick. Some believe the blood of a COVID-19 victim is on your head if you disagree or question the status quo.
There are wackos out there. I doubt a Facebook post or several of them tips the scales of instability toward immoral behavior.
Truth: Each individual is responsible for his or her actions.
#8. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 "𝑰 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕-𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕, 𝑰 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒕" 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒚:
Be careful of fact-checking websites. Several I've been on lately do not impress me. Not only does the analysis appear biased, the articles often use links to other websites as "supporting evidence." I did find some helpful source documents, but that was about it.
Truth: Just because it is on a fact-checking site, does not make it true or definitively refute XYZ.
#9. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 "𝑵𝒂𝒎𝒆-𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈" 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒚:
This one is an oldie but goodie. It is a variation of the "shaming/bullying" fallacy and the "it's a conspiracy theory, it's wrong" fallacy. It's one of the easiest to recognize, but I'm amazed by how influential it is. As soon as someone resorts to name-calling, you can be sure there is a fallacy.
Truth: I think of the quote from Socrates whenever someone starts calling me names, "When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser."
#10. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 "𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕," 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒚:
Can anyone say, straw man? This fallacy happens when someone rewords what you are saying into something you did not say. You say, "I question whether shutting businesses down is the best way to handle this epidemic," and they criticize you as saying, "You don't care about anyone but yourself and you don't care if people die." Don't let people get away with this.
Truth: Do unto others… don’t distort someone’s argument just to make someone else look foolish. But also be aware when this is being done to you.
