Fallacies in Media
📋 What it is
Media and ads often use fallacies and emotional tricks instead of real evidence to persuade you.
🗣️ Coach says
Once you know fallacies, you see them everywhere — the fear ad (“buy this or be unsafe”), the false choice (“you’re with us or against us”), the fake expert. Spotting the trick lets you decide with your head, not your gut.
🧠 Memory hook
Ask: what’s the EVIDENCE here — or is it just feelings and pressure?
😂 Giggle
Why did the ad hominem attack get sent to the principal's office?
Because it went after the person instead of the argument!
😲 Whoa!
The average kid sees thousands of ads a year, and studies show naming the persuasion trick makes you far less likely to be swayed by it.
✅ Quick check: “Real champions drink FizzCola.” What’s the trick, and where’s the evidence?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
It links the drink to “champion” to make you feel like one — pure association, zero evidence the drink does anything.
Associating a product with a good feeling isn’t evidence; it’s an emotional appeal.
🪄 Trick question: “Either you buy the deluxe version or you don’t really care about learning.” What fallacy?
Careful — think it through, then reveal.
False dilemma (false choice) — it pretends there are only two options when plenty of others exist.
A false dilemma hides the middle ground to force a choice.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Watch one ad and write down: what feeling is it selling, and what actual evidence (if any) does it give?