A fallacy is a type of argument that is persuasively misleading and is ultimately the cause of weakening an argument.
A content fallacy I choose to discuss is appeal to authority, also known as an argumentum or verecundiam fallacy. An appeal to authority is a fallacious argument when a person justifies their argument with an authority figure or well-known person as their persuasive mechanism. Even though it is impressive and pleasing to use a celebrity or prospective person in an argument, they most likely are not experts relating to the topic of the argument, thus creating an appeal to authority. This type of fallacies are commonly seen throughout the media with the participation of celebrities to encourage the promotion of a cause or to help sell a product.
For instance, an example would be involving the legalization or acceptance of marijuana:
Everyone should be smoking marijuana and promote its legalization. Jack Black, a well-known American actor, is an advocate for marijuana and pushing to legalizing it. He is even on the advisory board of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP).
It is true that a lot of people, especially youth, look up to and respect a statement a lot more if it comes from an authority figure that they respect or admire. This is why companies are so eager to hire popular celebrity figures to endorse their products. If the lead singer of a teenager’s favorite band thinks something is “cool” and is in some sort of advertisement for it (even though they probably don’t even really think it is cool because they are getting paid), then the teenager is most likely going to pick that product over competitors products. An example of this is in the X-games the riders are often endorsed by brands such as monster, and if you see your favorite bike rider drinking a monster between his events, you are way more likely to pick up a monster next time you are shopping for an energy drink
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