Red Herring. The primary characteristics of a red herring fallacy are: 1 It is an attack on the promise of the argument. 3 It attempts to change the topic in mid discussion. 1 Discuss both topics thoroughly. 2 3 Determine the relevance of the second topic to the first. 4 Red Herring. When dealing with a red herring fallacy it is important to: 2 It attempts to through the discussion off track. 4 It attempts to distract from the real issue. Switch from discussing the first topic to discussing the second topic. Stay focused on the first topic. Identify the Fallacy. The following argument is an example of which fallacy: We should not study logic. It originated many centuries ago with the ancient Greeks. That was so long ago it must be irrelevant by now. Red herring Origination 1 Straw Man 3 Appeal to authority. 2 4