Led Astray
Misdirection is when a writer states a fact, then follows it up with another fact that sounds directly related but isn’t. Technically they aren’t stating anything untrue, which can make it a particularly difficult tactic to catch.
“Congressman Tim Thonkerton supports jail time for even minor shoplifting offenses. We spoke with psychology professor Dr. Agnes Pickpocket, who told us that kleptomaniacs do not respond to harsh sentencing, even after they have served jail time.”
The writer wants you to think, “Why should there be a punishment for shoplifting that we know it’s not effective?” You need to read carefully to catch the misdirection. The studies show that kleptomaniacs don’t respond to jail time. Kleptomaniacs commit a total of one percent of all shoplifting incidents. They don’t represent most shoplifters, but how are you really supposed to know that? You’ve been misdirected.
Misdirection [mis-də-rek-shən]—presenting information as evidence for a statement when in fact the two are not directly related.
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