Association fallacy
About
An association fallacy is a type of logical fallacy which asserts (or implies) that qualities of one are inherently qualities of another, merely by association. It sometimes referred to more specifically as "guilt by association" or (less commonly) "honor by association". When applied to personal reputations, it is also a form of reasoning by reputation.
It also seems to come into play with regard to helping people who are experiencing hardship: the thinking seems to be that if you help someone, whatever problems they've been dealing with may become your problems as well – as if their troubles were an infectious disease. This mentality may also be rooted in zero-sum thinking, where there is a belief any help one person gives another is going to cost the giver as much as it benefits the recipient (and thus providing no net social value), ignoring the existence of marginal value.
Links
Reference
- Wikipedia
- RationalWiki
Conservapedia: see Guilt by Association
dKosopedia: no equivalent article (as of 2008-05-06)SourceWatch: no equivalent article (as of 2008-05-06); see Transfer
Filed Links
News
- 2026-03-29 16:59 UTC [L..T] CNN Regular Paints No Kings Protesters As A Bunch Of Commie Terrorist Lovers «JENNINGS: These No Kings rallies actually look pretty representative to me of the Democratic coalition. I saw people flying the hammer and sickle in New York City. I saw Hezbollah flags. I saw Hamas flags. I saw Palestinian flags. I saw trans signs. § I see weirdo liberal boomers out there. This is pretty representative of the Democratic coalition. And that's who funds it as well, by the way.» So, is he trying to paint pro-Palestine and pro-transgender activism as bad by association with communism, Hezbollah, Hamas, and astroturfing? Or is it assumed that they are bad, and he's trying to paint No Kings as bad by association with them?