← Back to archive

Whats this logical form called?

Historical archive only. New interaction is disabled.

Original Question

X is the enemy. 


X says Y is true. 


Therefore, the opposite of Y must be the real truth. 


A real world example would be: "Facebook fact checked me, then censored me as being extremist content, therefore what I posted must be the real truth they don't want us to know about. 

Answers

3

This is a Non-Sequitur for sure, as well as a fallacy of opposition.


X is the enemy. 


X says Y is true. 


Therefore, the opposite of Y must be the real truth.



In other words:


P1) Person A says X is true


P2) If Person A says X is true, then it is not


C) X is not true


This is a formally valid syllogism, but an unsound form of reasoning - it is a genetic fallacy. Your example follows this logic - because of the origin of the claim (the "enemy"), it is rejected.



Facebook fact checked me, then censored me as being extremist content, therefore what I posted must be the real truth they don't want us to know about. 



This actually seems a bit different. It's still a fallacy though - the appeal to censorship. "I was censored, therefore I am right." It's a non sequitur.

Book

Want the full book?

Get the complete guide to logical fallacies by Bo Bennett.

Buy the Book

Master Logical Fallacies Online

Take the Virversity course and sharpen your reasoning skills with structured lessons.

View Online Course