# Whataboutism

*Also called: Counter-accusation*

- **Cluster:** Distraction and distortion — Moving the argument somewhere easier to win
- **Page:** https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/whataboutism/
- **In Arabic:** https://fallacy.wiki/ar/fallacy/whataboutism.md
- **Licence:** CC BY 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

## What it is

Answering a criticism by pointing at someone else's failing instead of addressing it.

## In the wild

> You criticize our delays, what about their delays?

## How to answer it

Agree the other case also deserves scrutiny, then return to the one on the table.

## Origin and naming

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.

## More places it shows up

- 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.

## How to spot it

- Notice when the answer to an accusation is another accusation, never a fact.
- Notice when the counter-charge would still leave the original charge standing even if fully true.
- Notice the word 'what about' arriving exactly where an explanation should be.

## Nearby

- [Tu quoque](https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/tu-quoque.md)
- [Red herring](https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/red-herring.md)
- [Two wrongs make a right](https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/two-wrongs.md)

## Read more

- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism)

---

From fallacy.wiki — a bilingual field guide to 91 logical fallacies, published by phi holdings. Licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): reuse freely with attribution to fallacy.wiki.