Poisoning the Well

Poisoning the well occurs when negative or unflattering information about a person or group is preemptively introduced. The goal is to associate the target with negative concepts in the minds of the audience. Thus poisoning the well is an appeal to ridicule. The information used to poison the well can be true but irrelevant , thus constituting an ad hominem attack, or the information can be false. One example is a tendency by some with religious communities to categorized atheists as immoral and perhaps trying to deceive. Supporting anecdotal evidence is often cited or identified by the audience because of confirmation bias and a tendency to cherry pick the data that supports a preconceived notion.