Dead cat strategy

In his column in The Telegraph on 3 March 2013, Boris Johnson, then the mayor of London, explained the term "dead cat" as a piece of Australian political analysis, describing a strategy to be employed in a situation where an argument is being lost and "the facts are overwhelmingly against you":[2][3]

There is one thing that is absolutely certain about throwing a dead cat on the dining room table – and I don’t mean that people will be outraged, alarmed, disgusted. That is true, but irrelevant. The key point, says my Australian friend, is that everyone will shout, ‘Jeez, mate, there’s a dead cat on the table!’ In other words, they will be talking about the dead cat – the thing you want them to talk about – and they will not be talking about the issue that has been causing you so much grief.[4]

Johnson employed Lynton Crosby as his London mayoral election campaign manager during the 2008 and 2012 London mayoral elections, and the press speculated that he was the "Australian friend" in the story.[5][3]

Some observe that dead cat strategy is used, not only to distract when an argument is being lost; but also to avoid responsibility or the repercussions of misconduct.[6][7][8] Because 'dead cats' are by defintion extreme or outlandish,[9] some claim that the dead cat strategy is unsustainable,[10] others argue it can overcome 'intellectual laziness' and win elections.[11]

• Chewbacca defense – Nonsensical diversionary legal defense strategy
• Diversionary foreign policy – Conflict instigated to distract from domestic strife
• Fearmongering – Deliberate use of fear-based tactics
• Post-truth politics – Political culture where facts are considered of low relevance
• Propaganda techniques – Methods of mind manipulation, many of which are based on logical fallacies
• Rally 'round the flag effect
• Red herring – Fallacious approach developed as a diversion to mislead the audience
• Wag the Dog – 1997 film by Barry Levinson
• Whataboutism – Formal fallacy