A red herring is a clue which is intended to be misleading, or distracting from the actual issue. For example, in mystery fiction, where the identity of a criminal is being sought, an innocent party may be purposefully cast in a guilty light by the author through the employment of deceptive clues, false emphasis, "loaded" words or other descriptive tricks of the trade. The reader's suspicions are thus misdirected, allowing the true culprit to go (temporarily at least) undetected. A false protagonist is another example of a red herring.

A red herring is a figurative expression in which a clue or piece of information is or is intended to be misleading, or distracting from the actual question.

Red herring ("savusilli", suoraan käännettynä "punainen silli") on englannin kielessä kielikuva, jolla tarkoitetaan helposti henkilön huomion vievää, mutta muilta osin täysin tarpeetonta tai hyödytöntä esinettä, asiaa, henkilöä jne. Se on myös yksi Ignoratio elenchi -virhepäätelmätyyppi.