The Rubin Report

Confirmation appeal

AI detected as: Confirmation Bias

Selectively presenting information that confirms what you probably already believe. Content that matches your existing worldview requires almost no mental effort to accept — it just feels obviously true.

Wason (1960); Nickerson's confirmation bias review (1998)

Deflection

AI detected as: Whataboutism

Deflecting criticism by pointing to someone else's wrongdoing instead of addressing the original issue. "What about when they did X?" changes the subject and puts the critic on the defensive. A specific form of the tu quoque fallacy.

Tu quoque fallacy; associated with Soviet propaganda technique (Nimmo, 2015)

In-group/Out-group framing

AI detected as: In-group/out-group Bias

Leveraging your tendency to automatically trust information from "our people" and distrust outsiders. Once groups are established, people apply different standards of evidence depending on who is speaking.

Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979); Cialdini's Unity principle (2016)

Single-cause framing

AI detected as: Causal Oversimplification

Attributing a complex outcome to a single cause, ignoring the web of contributing factors. A clean explanation is more satisfying and easier to act on than a complicated one. Especially effective when the proposed cause is something you already dislike.

Fallacy of the single cause; Kahneman's WYSIATI principle

Performed authenticity

AI detected as: Manufactured Authenticity

The deliberate construction of "realness" — confessional tone, casual filming, strategic vulnerability — designed to lower your guard. When someone appears unpolished and honest, you evaluate their claims less critically. The spontaneity is rehearsed.

Goffman's dramaturgy (1959); Audrezet et al. (2020) on performed authenticity

Association

Pairing a new idea, product, or person with something you already feel positively or negatively about. The goal is to transfer your existing emotional response without any logical connection. It works below conscious awareness.

Evaluative conditioning (Pavlov); IPA 'Transfer' technique (1937)

Deflection

AI detected as: Narrative Pivot

Deflecting criticism by pointing to someone else's wrongdoing instead of addressing the original issue. "What about when they did X?" changes the subject and puts the critic on the defensive. A specific form of the tu quoque fallacy.

Tu quoque fallacy; associated with Soviet propaganda technique (Nimmo, 2015)

Fear appeal

AI detected as: Problem-reaction-solution (manufacturing A Specific Financial Fear To Sell A Specific Financial Product).

Presenting a vivid threat and then offering a specific action as the way to avoid it. Always structured as: "Something terrible will happen unless you do X." Most effective when the threat feels personal and the action feels achievable.

Witte's Extended Parallel Process Model (1992)

Character flattening

AI detected as: Character-based Framing

Reducing a complex person to one defining trait — hero, villain, genius, fool — stripping away nuance that would complicate the narrative. Once someone is labeled, everything they do gets interpreted through that lens.

Fundamental attribution error (Ross, 1977); Propp's narrative archetypes (1928)

In-group/Out-group framing

AI detected as: Projection-based Framing

Leveraging your tendency to automatically trust information from "our people" and distrust outsiders. Once groups are established, people apply different standards of evidence depending on who is speaking.

Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979); Cialdini's Unity principle (2016)

Us vs. Them

AI detected as: Ad Hominem Dismissal

Dividing the world into two camps — people like us (good, trustworthy) and people not like us (dangerous, wrong). It exploits a deep human tendency to favor our own group. Once you accept the division, information from "them" gets automatically discounted.

Tajfel's Social Identity Theory (1979); Minimal Group Paradigm

Social proof

AI detected as: Consensus Manufacturing Through Nested Commentary

Presenting the popularity or consensus of an opinion as evidence that it's correct. When you see many others have endorsed something, it feels safer to follow. This shortcut can be manufactured — fake reviews, inflated counts, and cherry-picked polls all simulate consensus.

Cialdini's Social Proof principle (1984); Asch conformity experiments (1951)

Fear appeal

AI detected as: Problem-solution Gap Manufacturing

Presenting a vivid threat and then offering a specific action as the way to avoid it. Always structured as: "Something terrible will happen unless you do X." Most effective when the threat feels personal and the action feels achievable.

Witte's Extended Parallel Process Model (1992)

Moral outrage

Provoking a sense that something is deeply unfair or wrong, activating a feeling that demands action — sharing, protesting, punishing — before you've fully evaluated the situation. It's one of the most viral emotions online because it combines anger with righteousness.

Haidt's Moral Foundations Theory (2004); Brady et al. (2017, PNAS)

Pathos

AI detected as: Affective Polarization

Appealing to your emotions — fear, joy, anger, sadness — to make an argument feel compelling. Rather than persuading through evidence, it works by putting you in an emotional state where you're more receptive. The emotion becomes the proof.

Aristotle's Rhetoric; Kahneman's System 1 processing

In-group/Out-group framing

AI detected as: Evolutionary Framing

Leveraging your tendency to automatically trust information from "our people" and distrust outsiders. Once groups are established, people apply different standards of evidence depending on who is speaking.

Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979); Cialdini's Unity principle (2016)

Fear appeal

AI detected as: Fear-based Hyperbole

Presenting a vivid threat and then offering a specific action as the way to avoid it. Always structured as: "Something terrible will happen unless you do X." Most effective when the threat feels personal and the action feels achievable.

Witte's Extended Parallel Process Model (1992)

Narrative Pivot (linking Specific Policy Shifts To Broader Existential Demographic Threats)

This technique was detected by AI but doesn't yet map to our curated glossary. We're tracking its usage patterns.

Dehumanizing Categorization Through Intellectual Pathologization.

This technique was detected by AI but doesn't yet map to our curated glossary. We're tracking its usage patterns.

Deflection

Deflecting criticism by pointing to someone else's wrongdoing instead of addressing the original issue. "What about when they did X?" changes the subject and puts the critic on the defensive. A specific form of the tu quoque fallacy.

Tu quoque fallacy; associated with Soviet propaganda technique (Nimmo, 2015)

Character flattening

Reducing a complex person to one defining trait — hero, villain, genius, fool — stripping away nuance that would complicate the narrative. Once someone is labeled, everything they do gets interpreted through that lens.

Fundamental attribution error (Ross, 1977); Propp's narrative archetypes (1928)

Social proof

Presenting the popularity or consensus of an opinion as evidence that it's correct. When you see many others have endorsed something, it feels safer to follow. This shortcut can be manufactured — fake reviews, inflated counts, and cherry-picked polls all simulate consensus.

Cialdini's Social Proof principle (1984); Asch conformity experiments (1951)

Single-cause framing

Attributing a complex outcome to a single cause, ignoring the web of contributing factors. A clean explanation is more satisfying and easier to act on than a complicated one. Especially effective when the proposed cause is something you already dislike.

Fallacy of the single cause; Kahneman's WYSIATI principle

Confirmation appeal

Selectively presenting information that confirms what you probably already believe. Content that matches your existing worldview requires almost no mental effort to accept — it just feels obviously true.

Wason (1960); Nickerson's confirmation bias review (1998)

Performed authenticity

The deliberate construction of "realness" — confessional tone, casual filming, strategic vulnerability — designed to lower your guard. When someone appears unpolished and honest, you evaluate their claims less critically. The spontaneity is rehearsed.

Goffman's dramaturgy (1959); Audrezet et al. (2020) on performed authenticity

Pathos

Appealing to your emotions — fear, joy, anger, sadness — to make an argument feel compelling. Rather than persuading through evidence, it works by putting you in an emotional state where you're more receptive. The emotion becomes the proof.

Aristotle's Rhetoric; Kahneman's System 1 processing

Fear appeal

Presenting a vivid threat and then offering a specific action as the way to avoid it. Always structured as: "Something terrible will happen unless you do X." Most effective when the threat feels personal and the action feels achievable.

Witte's Extended Parallel Process Model (1992)

Us vs. Them

Dividing the world into two camps — people like us (good, trustworthy) and people not like us (dangerous, wrong). It exploits a deep human tendency to favor our own group. Once you accept the division, information from "them" gets automatically discounted.

Tajfel's Social Identity Theory (1979); Minimal Group Paradigm

In-group/Out-group framing

Leveraging your tendency to automatically trust information from "our people" and distrust outsiders. Once groups are established, people apply different standards of evidence depending on who is speaking.

Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979); Cialdini's Unity principle (2016)