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Personal attack (ad hominem)
Attacking the person instead of what they said.
In our replies we call it: Attacks the person
What it means
An ad hominem attack dismisses an argument by attacking the person making it: their looks, intelligence, family, religion or past. Nicknames like "Pappu" or "andh bhakt" do the same job: they make you reject someone without hearing their point.
How to spot it in a Reel
- Mocking nicknames or memes about a person instead of their claim
- "Look who's talking" answers
- Attacks on someone's education, accent or family when the topic is a policy
Examples
- A Reel answers a politician's criticism of an election body by calling him a name and showing a meme, without addressing the criticism.
- A Reel dismisses a minister's statement on the economy by mocking how he speaks English.
Why it doesn't hold up
Whether a claim is true doesn't depend on who says it. A disliked person can be right; a liked one can be wrong. The insult replaces the evidence.
What to say back
"Forget who said it. Is the claim itself true?"
Questions
What does ad hominem mean?
Latin for "to the person": arguing against the person instead of their argument.
Is criticising a politician ad hominem?
No. Criticising what someone did or said is fair. It's ad hominem when the attack on the person replaces the answer.
Check a Reel for this trick
Send any Reel to @checkthis.chat on Instagram. If it uses this trick, the reply names it and shows where it happens.
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