Bending Argument

Crafting an argument that, while perhaps containing true premises, uses rhetorical sleight-of-hand, emotional manipulation, or procedural tricks to guide the listener to an unwarranted conclusion. It's an argument built like a funhouse mirror—the components are real, but the overall reflection is a distorted version of reality. This includes shifting burden of proof, using loaded questions, or appealing to irrelevant authority.

Example: "The lawyer bent the argument for the jury: 'My client is a family man, a volunteer, a patriot. The prosecution wants you to believe this pillar of the community suddenly became a criminal. Can you live with that doubt?' He bent the argument away from evidence and toward a narrative about the prosecution's character." Bending Argument

by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026

Argument Forging

Manufacturing a complete argument from whole cloth, including fabricated evidence, invented experts, or fake citations. This is the creation of a persuasive narrative with no connection to reality, designed to be deployed as a ready-made rhetorical weapon. It's counterfeiting an entire case file for a trial that will never see a real judge.

Example: "She forged an argument against the development by citing a 'landmark study from the MIT Urban Planning Journal' that didn't exist, quoting a 'leading ecologist' she made up, and referencing local aquifer data she'd completely invented. Her argument was a compelling fiction, meticulously fabricated to sway the town council." Argument Forging

by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026

Argument Crafting

The skillful assembly of a persuasive argument by artfully selecting, framing, and connecting real (but often cherry-picked or decontextualized) pieces of evidence, appeals, and rhetorical moves. The craft lies in the arrangement and presentation, leading the audience down a specific path of thought while minimizing exposure to contradictory information. It's not making up the bricks, but building a wall that only shows their best side.

Example: "The prosecutor crafted her closing argument like a novelist. She took ambiguous text messages and crafted a story of premeditation, used the defendant's calm demeanor as evidence of a sociopathic lack of remorse, and sequenced the exhibits for maximum emotional narrative. It was less a presentation of facts and more a guided tour through a version of reality she had constructed." Argument Crafting

by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026