A Field Guide

Twenty-four ways an
argument can break.

Common errors of reasoning, each illustrated with a contemporary example from the news cycle and a note on how it lands across different cultures and communities.

Browse the catalogue → Take the full quiz
01 / Why this exists

Bad arguments travel faster than good ones.

A clip is shared. A headline is rewritten. A community absorbs the framing before anyone notices the seams.

02 / What's inside

Twenty-four named patterns.

Each fallacy gets a plain definition, a current-events example, and a note on which communities feel it most.

03 / How to use it

As a checklist, not a weapon.

The goal is recognizing the pattern in your own reading first — before you reach to point it out in someone else's.

Section 01

The Catalogue

All twenty-four fallacies. Click any entry to see how it shows up in the news and who feels the consequences.

The same logical mistake, told twice,
is policy in one mouth and persecution in another.
Section 02

The Cultural Lens

Six case studies in how a single fallacy lands differently across communities.

Section 03

The Spotter

Five passages. A quick warm-up before the full quiz below.

Section 04

The Full Quiz

Twenty-four questions, one per fallacy, grouped by topic. Pick a track or take them all.

Question 1 of 24 Track: All
Section 05

References & Further Reading

Curated links to dig deeper. All open in a new tab.

FOUNDATIONAL
MEDIA LITERACY
RESEARCH & ETHICS
Section 06

The Checklist

A reader's pocket reference for the next headline that bothers you.

Before you share

Five questions

  1. 01What is the actual claim — in one sentence, in your own words?
  2. 02What evidence is offered? A study, an anecdote, or a feeling?
  3. 03Who benefits if you believe this?
  4. 04Whose voice is missing from the framing?
  5. 05Could you steelman the opposite view? If not, you don't understand it yet.
Warning signs

Five red flags

  • ▸The argument is about a person, not a position.
  • ▸"Everyone knows" or "common sense" is doing the heavy lifting.
  • ▸Two events are linked only by sequence, not mechanism.
  • ▸The conclusion arrives before the evidence does.
  • ▸The story flatters you for already agreeing.

The cure for a bad argument is rarely a better argument.
It is the patience to ask one more question.