Guilt by Association Fallacy Examples in Media, Real Life, Politics, News & Ads

Guilt by Association Fallacy

Guilt by Association Fallacy Definition

The guilt by association fallacy is the idea that if one person has a certain trait, then another person who associates with them must also have that trait. It is a common term in popular media used to describe the causal fallacy of guilt by association. This fallacy is also known as “crimen de textum” or “texts crime,” which references the association of a subject and an object together, where the association is based on a word or phrase found in an unrelated third text.

Guilt by association, also known as guilt by link or association, is a logical fallacy that occurs when one assumes that someone or something is guilty of a crime because they are associated with someone or something that is guilty.

A lot of people may be guilty, but only one person is being accused. A great way to avoid being fooled by this fallacy is to remove emotion from your decision.

It defends a person by assuming that they are guilty or responsible for their association. A person associating with an individual or business is not obligated to be part of that person or business. Association fallacy is a common form of guilt by association.

The fallacy is usually used in order to create a negative connotation for a person. It is often used in politics in order to discredit a candidate or politician with arguments of disgrace.

Guilt by Association Fallacy Examples

Guilt by Association Fallacy Real-Life Examples

Guilt by Association Fallacy in Real Life:

This can be seen in the following example: “I saw John yesterday, and he was wearing a pink shirt, so he must like to wear pink shirts.”.

In reality, someone can associate with someone else without having any of their traits.

Other examples include;

•  A person is guilty of a crime because they were seen with the criminal.
• The company’s stock price fell because it was associated with the scandal.
• You’re not qualified for this position, but you have to be related to someone who works here.

Guilt by Association Fallacy Examples in Media

Examples of Guilt by Association Fallacy in Media: 

The media often uses the guilt by association fallacy to discredit people or organizations.

For example, if a person is arrested for shoplifting and their friend has also been arrested for shoplifting in the past, this does not mean that they are guilty of the crime.

Another example: The media is guilty of the fallacy of guilt by association when they report on a story about a person who has done something illegal and then use that to imply that all people in their group are criminals.

This is an unfair way to portray people because it does not take into account individual circumstances or intentions.

It also ignores the fact that many people in this group have never committed any crime.

Guilt by Association Examples in Advertising

Guilt by Association Fallacy in Advertising: 

The advertiser uses an association fallacy to link their product with a certain lifestyle or group of people.

For example, they might use the product images in a setting that is associated with wealth and success (e.g., on a yacht).

This makes the viewer feel like they need this product because it will help them fit into this desired social group.

Guilt by Association Fallacy in Politics

Examples of Guilt by Association Fallacy in Politics:

The fallacy of guilt by association is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone assumes that because one person, group, or set of circumstances shares a trait with another, they must share other traits.

For example, if you are seen in the company of people who have committed a crime, then it is assumed that you, too, are guilty.

This type of reasoning can lead to false accusations and unfair judgments.

Guilt by Association Fallacy examples in Movies

Examples of Guilt by Association Fallacy in Movies:

The protagonist is in a movie theater, watching the film.  A man sitting next to him starts talking about how he killed his wife and children.

This scene is just an example of the guilt by association fallacy because it does not show any evidence that the protagonist has committed murder.

It’s simply showing someone who is guilty of murder being near another person.

Guilt by Association Fallacy Examples in Literature

Examples of Guilt by Association Fallacy in Literature:

The author of the article makes an argument that is fallacious because it relies on the guilt by association fallacy, which is when a person assumes that if two people are in some way associated with each other, then they must also share all beliefs and qualities

This fallacy can be seen in the following excerpt from the article: “The protagonist’s mother was killed by a drunk driver who had been drinking at another character’s party

.”In this example, we see how one event (drinking) has led to another unrelated event (murdering someone), which is not logical.

Guilt by Association Fallacy Examples in News

Examples of Guilt by Association Fallacy in News:

The media often uses guilt by association to discredit a person or organization.

For example, if someone is accused of committing a crime and they are seen with another criminal, the media will use this as evidence that the person committed the crime.

This is an example of the guilt by association fallacy because there may be no other connection between them.

Guilt by Association example in Philosophy

Examples of Guilt by Association Fallacy in Philosophy:

The fallacy of guilt by association is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone assumes that just because two things are related, one causes the other.

For example, if you see an ad for car insurance and then get into a car accident later on in the day, it doesn’t mean that the ad caused your accident.

This is because there might be other factors at work (such as bad weather), or it could have been pure coincidence.

Related:

• 17+ Post Hoc Fallacy Examples in Media, Economics, Real Life, Politics, News & Ads

• 15 Inconsistency Fallacy Examples in Media, Real Life, Politics, News & Ads