The Origin of the Red HerringA political lie that became a common phrase.

From the show

History of Phrases

Discover the true story behind the term 'red herring'. It's not about training dogs with smelly fish, but a fictional tale crafted by a journalist in 1807 to make a political point. He used the story as a metaphor to criticize how the press was distracted by fake news. The classic example of a distraction was itself a clever misdirection. This is a story about how a piece of fiction, created to call out a problem, became accepted as history.