A field guide to the ways reasoning breaks
Distraction and distortion
Also called Counter-accusation
Answering a criticism by pointing at someone else's failing instead of addressing it.
You criticize our delays, what about their delays?
Agree the other case also deserves scrutiny, then return to the one on the table.
The word became common in Cold War commentary on Soviet rhetoric: criticism of Moscow was met not with a defense but with 'and in America, you are lynching Negroes'. The move itself is the old 'tu quoque' — you too — dressed in a modern uniform.
Asked about layoffs at his company, a CEO asks why nobody investigated his competitor's outsourcing.
Confronted about plastic in its packaging, a brand's spokesperson notes that its rival's supply chain is worse.
A fan whose team was caught cheating replies that every club in the league bends the rules.
A parent scolds a child for a broken window; the child asks why nobody punished the neighbor's kid last summer.