false equivalence

When used on Reddit or other social media, a claim of false equivalence is not, as one might expect, pointing to a fallacy of inconsistency. Instead, the term is indignant shorthand indicating that the respondent is offended that someone had the audacity to make a comparison that illustrated how ridiculous, unreasonable, and/or stupid the thing they said really was.

Comparing Hitler to Stalin is a false equivalence.

by Fifth Finger of Fate March 23, 2018

False equivalence

Used when a liberal has absolutely no comeback for your undeniable facts and comparisons. Employed when they have no rebuttal and completely run out of feelings.

Well thats just false equivalence. Explain to me how it is. It just is so your facts are now rendered useless to me

by Qrut September 17, 2020

Fallacy of moral equivalence

When you make a comparison between two things and the person you're tries to argue that you're trying to claim that there is a moral equivalence between one of the things you're talking about and the comparison.

Iam "Fallacy of moral equivalence is such a lazy argument. I'm not saying that you are like Jesus and you're fans are like lepers. What I'm saying is this: Sometimes, in life, we can't always be for people what they want (or even need) us to be. And I see that it pains you a great deal. And that's ok. And I can relate to that. Not because I'm like Jesus..."

Hym "But because I'm better than Jesus. Like, 2 maybe 3 times better. At least. I'm obviously not a filthy leper. If that were the comparison I were making than I would OBVIOUSLY be God because I'm the one watching the thing happened. But then I would be a filthy abomination..."

Iam "I wasn't fin..."

Hym "You were finished. I doubt you even had a point."

Iam "I was going to say that I understand the feeling and that you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. I think back on my life and can see that if I changed maybe 3 things everything would be so radically different that I wouldn't even be the same entity. So, if the present is the future's past, you don't really have to do all that much. Just 3 things."

Hym "That's the problem with the rest of these morons. They're trying to do too much. And they're obnoxious. And they don't give me enough of their things. Everyone needs to give me their things. I need them more than they do."

by Hym Iam April 7, 2022

Flat Earth Equivalence Fallacy

The stronger fallacy of claiming that two positions are equivalent because both challenge some form of consensus, ignoring vast differences in evidence, reasoning, and scientific support. The flat Earth equivalence fallacy asserts that believing in climate change is like believing the Earth is flat because both "go against the mainstream," or that questioning vaccine safety is like questioning gravity because both involve skepticism. The fallacy ignores that skepticism is not a binary; it's a matter of evidence. Some consensus views are supported by overwhelming evidence; others are not. Equating them based on the formal similarity of "questioning consensus" is intellectually lazy and rhetorically manipulative. The equivalence fallacy is beloved of false balance journalism and concern trolling.

Flat Earth Equivalence Fallacy Example: "The pundit committed the flat Earth equivalence fallacy, saying that climate scientists were like flat Earthers because both were 'certain' about their views. The equivalence ignored that one certainty was backed by decades of research and global consensus, the other by YouTube videos and wishful thinking. False equivalence had replaced honest comparison."

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 16, 2026

Anti-vaccine Equivalence Fallacy

The stronger fallacy of claiming that any questioning of vaccine policy is equivalent to being anti-vaccine, or that all vaccine-hesitant positions are equally baseless. The anti-vaccine equivalence fallacy erases important distinctions—between those who reject all vaccines and those with specific concerns, between those who are misinformed and those who are persuadable, between questions asked in good faith and propaganda spread in bad faith. By treating all deviation from consensus as equivalent, the fallacy prevents nuanced discussion, alienates potential allies, and actually strengthens the most extreme positions by lumping them with moderate concerns. The equivalence fallacy is beloved of activists who prefer condemnation to conversation, and of those who find it easier to stigmatize than to persuade.

Anti-vaccine Equivalence Fallacy Example: "The health official committed the anti-vaccine equivalence fallacy, saying that anyone with questions about the new vaccine was 'just like the anti-vaxxers.' Parents with genuine concerns felt dismissed and became harder to reach. The fallacy had created the very resistance it claimed to fight. Nuance was the casualty."

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 16, 2026

Esquivalience

A fake word created by New Oxford American Dictionary as a countermeasure for copyright thieves. It its defined as "The willful avoidance of one's official responsibilities"

Keep in mind, this is a FAKE word, not real. :/

Those who plagiarize others works in order to cut their own work load are exerting esquivalience.

by FurryBallsMenacinglyOnTheTable November 24, 2016

equivalent exchange

Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's First Law of Equivalent Exchange.

"Alchemy: the science of understanding the structure of matter, breaking it down, then reconstructing it as something else. It can even make gold from lead. But alchemy is a science so it must follow the natural laws: to create, something of equal value must be lost. This is the principal of equivalent exchange. But I learned that night that some things cannot be measured on a simple scale. My brother and I knew the laws of science, of equivalent exchange. The game required sacrifice, that something had to be taken from us, but we thought there was nothing more we could loose....We were wrong."

~Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)

by one/and/only/truth December 20, 2010