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Red herring
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<p>A red herring is something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important question. It may be either a logical <a href="/facts/Fallacy/IRVuLSef">fallacy</a> or a <a href="/facts/Literary_device/AIXweqEU">literary device</a> that leads readers or audiences toward a false conclusion. A red herring may be used intentionally, as in <a href="/facts/Mystery_fiction/6GX6KBYy">mystery fiction</a> or as part of <a href="/facts/Rhetorical_strategies/aUbmFRLU">rhetorical strategies</a> (e.g., in politics), or may be used in argumentation inadvertently. </p><p>The term was popularized in 1807 by English <a href="/facts/Polemic/DF28IXME">polemicist</a> <a href="/facts/William_Cobbett/A9Mlxqc1">William Cobbett</a>, who told a story of having used a <a href="/facts/Kipper/2h6dtX1d">strong-smelling smoked fish</a> to divert and distract hounds from chasing a rabbit. </p>