Throughout the years, the public has become dependent on the media to keep them up to date with current events worldwide and in their local communities. In fact, many people rely completely on the media, believing that the information that is provided is factual. However, the media has gradually slipped into a trap. The trap is the overuse and abuse of language and reasoning fallacies. Reasoning fallacies are exceedingly common in daily newspapers, television reports, presidential speeches and over the radio. Day after day, the public is subjected to reasoning fallacies and if these fallacies persist, the public will have a hard time deciphering what is true and what is false and what is fact and what is opinion. Three main fallacies, which are most common today, are generalizations, red herrings and appeals to popular passions. These fallacies are harmful to the public, because they obscure the truth and present them with inaccurate material.
If influential figures in society......
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Approximate Word Count: 1082
Approximate Pages: 5 (260 words per double-spaced page) |