A "red herring" is a distraction, something that takes attention away from the real issue.

“红鲱鱼(red herring)”指的是分心，不注意真正的问题所在。

youdao

This story is a red herring to divert public attention from this issue。

这故事不过是用来转移公众的注意力的。

youdao

Yes, the White House is being slippery, even earning a false rating from PolitiFact, but this is red herring (there I go again) issue.

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The issue of outliers is a red herring.

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The carried interest tax issue, however, is a red herring and a topic for another time.

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