confuse the issue

confuse the issue

To obfuscate or distract from the topic at hand by introducing irrelevant and/or misleading information. Politicians are always confusing the issue during debates by pointing out their opponents' history in other issues. Don't confuse the issue with talk about your past achievements, please stick to the question I'm asking you. His muddled explanation only served to confuse the issue further for his students.
See also: confuse, issue
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • cloud the issue
  • a red herring
  • red herring
  • push (something) to the back of (one's) mind
  • push something to the back of your mind
  • off at a tangent
  • off the track
  • off (the) track
  • muddle up
  • muddled up
References in periodicals archive
"Attempts to solve the Qatari crisis through cheap media will not be effective, as the Qatari media outlets are trying to exploit the social media to confuse the issue," he added.
And the parents almost always continue to allow it, protest though they might to confuse the issue just a little, since it is they who decided that this is the way it is supposed to be.
'I do not know the timing of it being done the way, perhaps to confuse the issue; but I must stress it has got nothing to do with 1MDB or the yacht,' he told reporters at the Jalan Duta Court Complex lobby.
She said: "One of the things I don't like is how people confuse the issue of illegal immigrants with the issue of the Windrush generation."
Just to confuse the issue, Bob Pelham's famous Pelham marionettes sounded better if he called them Pelham Puppets.
"The transfer of the Scottish assets of the crown estate to the Scottish government does confuse the issue of renegotiating the percentage in due course because the total assets under the crown estate management will fall, and therefore 15 percent will be less than it would be if the transfer of the Scottish assets had taken place," he said.
And don't let the Europhiles confuse the issue by using 'Europe' in place of the 'EU' - we're in Europe, no escaping that, but we can escape the tentacles of the anti-democratic troughers of the EU - just say NO!
But to confuse the issue, spokesman of the Pemra on Tuesday said the cancellation of the licences of Geo News, Geo Tez and Geo Entertainment by private members of pemra was violation of the authority's rules.
To confuse the issue, he admits that he is already committed to Liverpool, the team of his birth.
Moyes did confuse the issue slightly when he was asked to clarify his comments.
Traffic flow will not be solved by introducing a second entrance in Farber Road for hospital staff; it will only confuse the issue of traffic chaos outside and inside the hospital grounds as it's the system of traffic flow that is the trouble.
Ozersay said Greek Cypriots were aware of these facts, adding, "however, they are trying to confuse the issue in a bid to appear to have willingness for a solution by the end of this year."
In the area with no other barely visible specks that could confuse the issue? Or with many faint stars to provide precise position markers?
Granted, the meeting-by-meeting changes in individual course layouts/ distances travelled can greatly confuse the issue, but overall these readings are at best uninformative and can be misleading.
"I drew Foreign Secretary's attention to the fact that al-Qaeda and its various manifestations and incarnations in different names and in different times should not confuse the issue on terror.