JAQing off
From RationalWiki
Not to be confused with jacking off.
JAQing off is the act of spouting accusations while cowardly hiding behind the claim that one is "Just Asking Questions".[1] The strategy is to keep asking leading questions in an attempt to influence listeners' views; the term is derived from the frequent claim by the denialist that they are "just asking questions," albeit in a manner much the same as political push polls. It is often associated with denialism in general.
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Famous JAQers
- Loose Change is a great example of JAQing. Replete with semi-truths and highly questionable leaps of logic, this documentary purports to show that the US government was behind the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001. This also applies to other 9/11 truthers, especially David Ray Griffin, whose work is merely meant to "ask disturbing questions."
- Glenn Beck is possibly the most famous current implementer of this technique. His technique of raising issues without actively accusing anyone was parodied on the Did Glenn Beck Rape and Murder a Young Girl in 1990 website[2], which Beck tried and failed to shut down in 2009 by filing a dispute over the domain name.
Examples
RationalWiki has itself seen JAQing off in several debates on-site. One troll in particular made extensive use of the technique, starting two debates in which he did very little but ask loaded questions.[3][4]
See also
- Begging the question
- Concern troll
- Gish Gallop
- Glenn Beck
- Question! Evolution!! (so far, no acknowledgement of Answers! from Evolution!!)
Footnotes
| Articles about logical fallacies | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formal fallacies | |||||
| Affirming the consequent | Denying the antecedent | ||||
| Informal fallacies | |||||
| Red herrings | |||||
| Conditional fallacies | |||||
| Fallacious argument styles | |||||
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JAQing off | |||||