A straw man argument is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation
of an opponent's position.
To "set up a straw man" or "set up a straw man argument" is to describe
a position that superficially resembles an opponent's actual view but is
easier to refute, then attribute that position to the opponent (for
example, deliberately overstating the opponent's position).
A straw man argument can be a successful rhetorical technique (that is,
it may succeed in persuading people) but it carries little or no real
evidential weight, because the opponent's actual argument has not been refuted.
