Gish gallop - Wikipedia

Toggle the table of contents Gish gallop 25 languages العربية Azərbaycanca বাংলা Català Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Italiano עברית 日本語 Norsk bokmål Pälzisch Polski Português Română Русский Српски / srpski Svenska Türkçe Українська 中文 Edit links Article Talk English Read Edit View history Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions Read Edit View history General What links here Related changes Upload file Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Download QR code Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikidata item Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Rapid-fire argument rhetorical technique The Gish gallop is a rhetorical technique in which a person in a debate attempts to overwhelm an opponent by presenting an excessive number of arguments, without regard for their accuracy or strength, with a rapidity that makes it impossible for the opponent to address them in the time available. Gish galloping prioritizes the quantity of the galloper's arguments at the expense of their quality. The term "Gish gallop" was coined in 1994 by the anthropologist Eugenie Scott who named it after the creationist Duane Gish , whom she described as the technique's "most avid practitioner". [ 1 ] [ non-primary source needed ] Strategy [ edit ] During a typical Gish gallop, the galloper confronts an opponent with a rapid series of specious arguments , half-truths , misrepresentations, and outright lies , making it impossible for the opponent to refute all of them within the format of the debate. [ 2 ] Each point raised by the Gish galloper takes considerably longer to refute than to assert. The technique wastes an opponent's time and may cast doubt on the opponent's debating ability for an audience unfamiliar with the technique, especially if no independent fact-checking is involved, or if the audience has limited knowledge of the topics. [ 3 ] The difference in effort between making claims and refuting them is known as Brandolini's law [ 4 ] or informally "the bullshit asymmetry principle". Another example is firehose of falsehoods . Countering the Gish gallop [ edit ] The journalist Mehdi Hasan suggests using three steps to beat the Gish gallop: [ 5 ] Because there are too many falsehoods to address, it is wise to choose one as an example. Choose the weakest, dumbest, most ludicrous argument that the galloper has presented and tear that argument to shreds ("the weak point rebuttal"). Do not budge from the issue or move on until having decisively destroyed the nonsense and clearly made the counter point. Call out the strategy by name, saying: "This is a strategy called the 'Gish Gallop'—do not be fooled by the flood of nonsense you have just heard." Generally, it is more difficult to use the Gish gallop in a structured debate than a free-form one. [ 6 ] If a debater is familiar with an opponent who is known to use the Gish gallop, the technique may be countered by pre-empting and refuting the opponent's commonly used arguments before the opponent has an opportunity to launch into the Gish gallop. [ 7 ] Reverse Gish gallop [ edit ] A related technique is the reverse Gish gallop , where the galloper listens to the opponent's rebuttal; finds an error, approximation, or omission; then attacks that as a way to attack the opponent's credibility. For example, if the correct value is 43 and the opponent says "40" instead of "about 40", then the galloper can use that to suggest the opponent is sloppy and their other arguments are full of errors. [ 8 ] Another name suggested for this is weaponized pedantry . [ 9 ] See also [ edit ] Ad hominem attack – Attacking the person rather than the argument Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets Brandolini's law – Internet adage Filibuster – Political stalling tactic Firehose of falsehood – Propaganda technique Proof by intimidation – Marking an argument as obvious or trivial Sealioning – Type of trolling or harassment Spreading – Competitive debate tactic References [ edit ] .mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}body.skin-vector-2022 .mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:27em}body.skin-vector-2022 .mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:22.5em}.mw-parser-output .references[data-mw-group=upper-alpha]{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .references[data-mw-group=upper-roman]{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .references[data-mw-group=lower-alpha]{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .references[data-mw-group=lower-greek]{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .references[data-mw-group=lower-roman]{list-style-type:lower-roman}.mw-parser-output div.reflist-liststyle-upper-alpha .references{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output div.reflist-liststyle-upper-roman .references{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output div.reflist-liststyle-lower-alpha .references{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output div.reflist-liststyle-lower-greek .references{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output div.reflist-liststyle-lower-roman .references{list-style-type:lower-roman} ^ Scott 2004 , p. 23; Scott 1994 . ^ Logan 2000 , p. 4; Sonleitner 2004 . ^ Grant 2011 , p. 74. ^ Hayward 2015 , p. 67. ^ .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#bf3c2c)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#bf3c2c)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}} Hasan, Mehdi (16 March 2023). "Stay Tuned with Preet, Debating 101" (Podcast). ^ Johnson 2017 , pp. 14–15. ^ Grant 2015 , p. 55. ^ "The Alt-Right Playbook: The Reverse Gish Gallop" . Innuendo Studios . YouTube . 30 January 2024 . Retrieved 14 September 2025 . ^ Novella, Steven (6 February 2024). "Weaponized Pedantry and Reverse Gish Gallop" . Neurologica Blog . Retrieved 14 September 2025 . I have heard this referred to as a "Reverse Gish Gallop". [...] I don't think it captures the essence of the fallacy. I have used the term "weaponized pedantry" before and I think that is better. General and cited sources [ edit ] Grant, John (2011). Denying Science: Conspiracy Theories, Media Distortions, and the War Against Reality . Prometheus Books . ISBN 978-1-61614-400-5 . Grant, John (2015). Debunk it: How to Stay Sane in a World of Misinformation . San Francisco: Zest Books . ISBN 978-1-936976-68-3 . Hayward, C. J. S. (2015). The Seraphinians: "Blessed Seraphim Rose" and His Axe-Wielding Western Converts . The Collected Works of C.J.S. Hayward. San Francisco: Zest Books. ISBN 9781517068134 . Johnson, Amy (2017). Gasser, Urs (ed.). "The Multiple Harms of Sea Lions" (PDF) . Perspectives on Harmful Speech Online. Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society . p. 14. Logan, Paul (25 February 2000). "Scientists Offer Creationist Defense" . West Side Journal. Albuquerque Journal . Vol. 120, no. 56. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com . Sonleitner, Frank J. (November–December 2004). "Winning the Creation Debate" . Reports . 24 (6). National Center for Science Education: 36– 38. Scott, Eugenie (2004). Confronting Creationism . Reports of National Center for Science Education. Vol. 24/6. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018 . Retrieved 6 October 2017 . Scott, Eugenie (1994). "Debates and the Globetrotters" . Talk Origins Archive . Retrieved 6 October 2017 . Hasan, Medhi (2023). "How to Beat Trump in a Debate" . The Atlantic . Retrieved 16 February 2023 . 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personality Demonizing the enemy Disinformation Dog whistle Doublespeak Emotive conjugation Exaggeration False accusation False balance False dilemma Fake news Fear, uncertainty, and doubt Firehose of falsehood Flag-waving Framing Gish gallop Glittering generality Half-truth Historical negationism Ideograph Indoctrination Lawfare Loaded language Newspeak Managing the news Minimisation Monumental propaganda Moralistic fallacy New generation warfare Obscurantism Overcomplication Oversimplification Plain folks Psychological warfare Propaganda of the deed Public relations Rally 'round the flag effect Scapegoating Senbu Shooting and crying Slogan Spin Weasel word Whataboutism White propaganda <img src="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?useformat=desktop&amp;type=1x1&amp;usesul3=1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"> Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gish_gallop&oldid=1333176885 " Categories : Debating 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