Topic: | Re:Government EU Propaganda leaflet | |
Posted by: | John Whitworth | |
Date/Time: | 13/04/16 16:49:00 |
CM > "So telling the truth is 'poisoning the well' John?" In this instance, yes. Poisoning the well is a debating tactic which involves presenting 'unfavourable' information about a target so that others will dismiss anything the target has to say without further thought or consideration. It doesn't matter whether the unfavourable information is true or false, relevant or irrelevant. Here's an example: 1. "Mr Smith, who may I remind you is a convicted fraudster, gave the following financial advice..." 2. Mr Smith's financial advice will likely be rejected out of hand, even if it is sound advice. Or, more humorously: 1. "What first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?" 2. ! CM > "Do you deny the BBC has got millions from the EU?" No. But I will consider the BBC output on an item-by-item basis rather than allow a blanket of suspicion to cloud my judgement. |