A lot of journalists (and others) recently are given to misuse of the expression "begging the question," when what they really mean is "raising the question." Such as, "The government is spending much more money than it is taking in in taxes. This begs the question, how are we ever going to balance the budget?"
Aristotle, who worked out the rules of formal logic more than two millennia ago, would really roll his eyes at THAT one
(Too bad that, to most people, Aristotle is "just some mouldy old Greek," but HE was the philosopher who worked out THE system of formal reasoning that is the basis of all science; the principles that form the foundation of rational thinking. We could sure use a little of that these days. . . .)
"The fallacy of petitio principia, or 'begging the question,' is committed 'when a proposition which requires proof is assumed to have already been proven,' or more generally when an assumption is used in some form of the very proposition to be proved, as a premise from which to deduce it."
Muddy to explain, but here's an example:
"Opium induces sleep because it has a soporific effect."
Which doesn't explain anything. If something has a "soporific effect," that means it induces sleep.
More examples of Begging the Question
Bill: "God must exist." Jill: "How do you know." Bill: "Because the Bible says so." Jill: "Why should I believe the Bible?" Bill: "Because the Bible was written by God."
"If such actions were not illegal, then they would not be prohibited by the law."
"The belief in God is universal. After all, everyone believes in God."