verretä

Verretä is a verb used in information design and rhetoric to describe the deliberate or incidental act of presenting two items as interchangeable or sufficiently similar to create a perception of equivalence, even when meaningful differences exist. The term is used primarily in discussions of media literacy, political communication, and cognitive bias research.

Origin and terminology: Coined in the early 2020s by scholars analyzing rhetorical strategies, the word combines a Finnish-sounding root ver- related to comparing, with the inflection -etä used in many Finnish verbs. The designation centers on the action of rendering distinctions invisible by juxtaposing items side by side.

Definition and scope: Verretä encompasses both intentional strategies (verbal framing, juxtaposition, or comparative labeling) and unconscious tendencies in audiences that lead to false equivalence. It differs from general argument by emphasizing the act of making two things appear equivalent through presentation choices rather than arguing similarity on substantive grounds.

Examples: A political ad that verretä two tax plans by showing identical support graphs, even if the plans differ in revenue sources; a product review that verretä features as interchangeable due to matching specifications, ignoring other aspects like reliability.

Relation to other concepts: Verretä is closely related to false equivalence, framing effects, and ambiguity tactics. Critics argue that the term risks overgeneralization but supporters view it as a useful descriptor for a recognizable rhetorical pattern.

See also: false equivalence, framing effect, information design.