Strawman Fallacy
Substituting a person’s actual position or argument with a distorted, exaggerated, or misrepresented version of the position of the argument.
How it is used: This move oversimplifies an opponent’s viewpoint and then attacks that hollow argument.
“So you’re saying…”
People who don’t support the proposed state minimum wage increase hate the poor.
“You’re pro-choice? So you enjoy killing babies, I see.”
“You want to reduce the defense budget? You must hate the military and don’t support our soldiers.”
Redressing the fallacy
A strawman argument is the opposite of the principle of charity. Remember the principle of charity recommends that we give our interlocutors the benefit of the doubt and to represent their argument in the strongest way possible. Remember a critical thinker will be charitable. A strawman argument can feel personal, so try to detach your ego from your argument; recognize that a strawman argument is a misrepresentation of your argument, not you.