Over and over and over, arrested rioters say what spurred them: Trump
This article represents the type of journalism that is rampant in our society today. I call this technique "The Guilt By Association", with a hint of "Sell the Headline". The article is strewn with critical thinking fallacies, starting with the Appeal to Emotion in the opening paragraph.
The riotous mob was largely made up of supporters of President Donald Trump, who’d called on his base to come to Washington on Jan. 6 for a “wild” protest of election results he’d spent months trying to discredit. That morning, he encouraged those who had made the trip to fight for their country and to march to the Capitol. They did.
The writer then slips into the fallacy of Causation/Causality, citing innocuous, irrelevant quotes from rioters who were arrested:
“Trump asked all the patriots to show up, so I did.”
“he came as a part of a group effort, with other ‘patriots’ from Arizona, at the request of the President that all ‘patriots’ come to D.C. on January 6, 2021.”
“the president asked for his supporters to be there to attend, and I felt like it was important, because of how much I love this country, to actually be there.”
“Trump wants all able bodied Patriots to come.”
Next, comes the Red Herring, using 2 "alleged" social media posts.
“IM THERE IF TRUMP TELLS US TO STORM THE F---- CAPITAL IMA DO THAT THEN.”
“President Trump is calling us to FIGHT!”
And just for good measure, adds the "Appeal to Authority" fallacy to seal the deal, with two unnamed sources.
However, the kicker comes in the last paragraph, when the writer actually comes clean, writing "This doesn’t prove the prosecutors’ case in the impeachment trial."
I implore everyone to read past the headline and use critical thinking skills.
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