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Carolina Curious: What's A 'Red Herring?' Demystifying Loaded Language

Retired Surry Community College educator Christina Connell. DAVID FORD/WFDD

In the midst of a pandemic and highly charged election season, being able to distinguish between truth and fiction is critically important. But doing so has become increasingly difficult with the explosion of digital media, and countless news platforms to choose from.

WFDD listener and retired Surry Community College educator Christina Connell says understanding an age-old method of misleading people may help.

“Could you find someone, perhaps an expert, who can present, explain, give examples of several logical fallacies?” she asks. “I believe it would be very instructive to help your listeners understand that these techniques can be used to deflect from truth.” 

Simply put, logical fallacies are errors in reasoning; the ideas might be arranged correctly, but the content's off-kilter. There are lots of different kinds: false dichotomy, equivocation, and straw man, just to name a few.

Before his arrival in the Triad, David had already established himself as a fixture in the Austin, Texas arts scene as a radio host for Classical 89.5 KMFA. During his tenure there, he produced and hosted hundreds of programs including Mind Your Music, The Basics and T.G.I.F. Thank Goodness, It's Familiar, which each won international awards in the Fine Arts Radio Competition. As a radio journalist with 88.5 WFDD, his features have been recognized by the Associated Press, Public Radio News Directors Inc., Catholic Academy of Communication Professionals, and Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas. David has written and produced national stories for NPR, KUSC and CPRN in Los Angeles and conducted interviews for Minnesota Public Radio's Weekend America.

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