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What is it?
This fallacy tries to discredit a person or their argument by linking them to a person or group that is viewed negatively. It's an attempt to transfer the negative feelings about the association to the person and their argument.
Examples
"We can't trust her opinion on city planning; she's friends with that corrupt developer."
"That political party is supported by extremists, so all their policies must be extreme."
How to Avoid This
Evaluate a person and their arguments on their own, not based on who they associate with. People can have friends or belong to groups without sharing all of their views.
How to Counter This
State that your associations are irrelevant to the validity of your argument. 'My friendships don't have anything to do with the logic of my proposal. Let's focus on the issue.'