Trump showed old videos, took crosses out of context in South Africa genocide claims
Liezl Thom and Ellie Kaufman
ABC News
May 21, 2025
Viewpoint Detected:
Extreme
Fallacies Detected:
False Cause, Appeal to Emotion, Anecdotal Fallacy, Misuse of Evidence (Red Herring), Ambiguity Fallacy, Genetic Fallacy, Straw Man, Personal Incredulity
credAIble Evaluation:
This text outlines an interaction dominated by false cause reasoning, where isolated violent crimes are linked to a broader, unsupported claim of “white genocide.” Trump’s description of protest crosses as mass graves is a striking misuse of evidence and a red herring, designed to provoke outrage. The emotional manipulation intensifies through appeal to emotion, especially with visual dramatizations and references to violent chants. Disregarding clarifying information from South African officials and courts reflects personal incredulity. Including Elon Musk as a supportive voice is an instance of genetic fallacy, and the selective quoting of partisan sources to support a misleading conclusion involves a straw man distortion of broader reality.