Straw Man

A straw man fallacy happens when someone misrepresents your position to make it easier to attack.

Instead of responding to what you actually said, they respond to a weaker version of your argument.

Example

Christian: "I believe faith is trust based on evidence."

Atheist: "So you're saying people should believe things without evidence."

Notice what happened. The Christian never said that. The atheist changed the definition of faith into something easier to criticize.

That isn't a rebuttal. It's a straw man.

How to Respond

Don't defend the position they gave you.

Instead, calmly bring the conversation back to your actual claim.

You could say something like:

"That's not the position I'm defending. My claim is that faith is trust based on evidence. If you'd like to respond to that claim, I'm happy to continue."

Keep bringing the conversation back to what you actually said. Don't let someone force you to defend a position you never held.

Practice

The next time you're reading comments online, ask yourself:

"Did they respond to what was actually said, or did they change the argument into something easier to attack?"

Once you start looking for straw men, you'll be surprised how often you find them.