What do you call a question that is meant to make you look bad? [closed]

What is it called when you are asked a question that has nothing to do with the subject at hand and is sometimes meant to make you look bad?

I think it is a legal term used in a court setting.

Solution 1:

I think you're looking for a loaded question.

For example,

Have you stopped beating your wife?

is a loaded question and is designed to make the answerer look bad. Whether they say "Yes, I've stopped beating my wife" or "No, I haven't stopped beating my wife," the answerer is assumed to have, at one point, beaten their wife on a regular basis.

Solution 2:

In a legal setting you might mean: Leading the witness or a leading question.

It has a legal definition (from US Legal):

Leading the witness is the method of questioning a witness by which s/he is directed to answer them in the way expected by the attorney. The query suggests to the witness how it is to be answered or puts words into the mouth of the witness. In such questioning the answers will be apparent in the questions itself. Leading questions should not be used on the direct examination of a witness unless necessary to develop the person's testimony. Leading questions are proper in cross-examination or allowed if a witness is declared by the judge to be a hostile or adverse witness.

This is a phrase used in courtrooms and so strongly fits with that requirement. A leading question is intended to get an answer that is in the questioners favour, hence it may make the answerer or someone else attached to the case "look bad". In a courtroom setting, there won't be questions completely out of context, but a leading question may be unexpected.

Solution 3:

You may be thinking of the term

Gotcha question

A question posed by a reporter in an effort to trick a politician into looking stupid or saying something damaging.

https://politicaldictionary.com/words/gotcha-question/