Have you ever had a conversation with someone who was convincing you about something, only to find out later they left out half the story? It’s easy to find yourself taking a stance and forming opinions based on a single side of things, especially if the information presented seems very declarative and all-encompassing.
But card-stacking – also known as cherry picking, a one-sided argument or suppressing evidence – intentionally seeks to make people believe one side is the entire story.1 This can lead to false conclusions, misinformation or a complete misunderstanding of a situation.
It can also have a devastating impact on our lives, socially or politically. One of the most prominent issues in media news today comes from the development of two narratives in media reporting that stem from willful card-stacking on the part of mostly conservative media organizations.2 You can even see the issue take place on a smaller, personal scale, when two individuals have an argument and people take sides after hearing just one version of events.
Card stacking tricks you by giving you the false impression that you’re fully educated on a subject
Card stacking works by not just presenting only one side of an argument but intentionally suppressing a listener’s knowledge of other arguments or evidence related to a subject. Commonly employed in political ads or public relations campaigns, card stacking gives the listener the false impression that they’re being fully educated on a subject when they may in fact be presented with misinformation or information taken out of context.
For example, someone wanting to defend a John Doe may take a quote that says “I do not support John Doe and dislike him, although many people…
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