"Hyperbole is a rhetorical device involving exaggeration, typically to make something appear far worse or much better than it really is. While hyperbole is a form of lying, it is an exaggeration rather than a complete fabrication. For example, if a person does not catch any fish and say they "caught a whopper", then they are just lying. If they caught a small fish and called it a whopper, they are using hyperbole."
"This sort of "reasoning" is fallacious because attacking a distorted version of a claim or argument does not constitute a criticism of the position itself. A Straw Man can be effective because people often do not know the real claim or argument being attacked. The fallacy is especially effective when the straw person matches the audience's biases or stereotypes, they will feel that the distorted version is the real version and accept it."
Hyperbole involves exaggeration that makes something appear much worse or better than it really is, and differs from outright fabrication by overstating real events. Hyperbole can serve benign purposes such as comedy but can be weaponized to start conflicts. The Straw Man fallacy substitutes a distorted, exaggerated, or misrepresented version of an argument, attacks that distortion, and then concludes the original argument is false. Attacking a distortion does not refute the actual position. Straw Man tactics succeed when audiences do not know the real argument or when the distortion aligns with audience biases. Straw Men can be created unintentionally.
Read at A Philosopher's Blog
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