Fallacy · Bad evidence
Cherry-picking
Also called: Suppressed evidence, stacking the deck
Showing only the evidence that supports a claim and leaving out the rest.
What it is
Almost any claim can find some facts that fit. What matters is the whole picture, including the evidence that points the other way. A selection made to persuade can be accurate in every detail and still give a false impression.
An example
A gym advertises three members who lost a lot of weight. It does not mention the hundreds who joined and changed little.
How to spot it
Ask what was left out, and who chose which examples you are seeing.
How to answer it
“Those cases are real. What do all the cases look like together?”
When it is not a fallacy
Choosing examples is fair when the choice is open and representative, or when you say what you left out and why. An argument may lead with its best case as long as it does not hide the rest.
Printable sheet of all fallacies
Cite or share this page
A plain reference you can paste into notes or an essay:
Quest2Reason. “Cherry-picking.” https://quest2reason.com/learn/ideas/fallacies/cherry-picking. Accessed 13 November 2026.