What is Islam?
How about an ism a speech act in which a person avoids responding to a criticism, claim, or question by pointing to a different problem, usually with a response such as, ‘What about this other thing?’
Whataboutism is important because it can sound like justice while serving as avoidance. Instead of answering the question before the conversation, it directs attention to another issue, another person, or another example of evil.
This does not mean that all comparisons are false. Contrasts can clarify patterns, reveal inconsistencies, or help students see how two situations are similar and different. Whataboutism becomes problematic when the comparison replaces the original question rather than helping to answer it.
In that sense, whataboutism is closely related to logical fallacies such as he says quoquered herring arguments, and false equivalence. It is most common in political debates, social media debates, classroom disagreements, and any discussion where responsibility, evidence, or fairness is questioned.
Related Terms
| Term | How It Relates to Whataboutism |
|---|---|
| It is what it is | You respond to criticism by accusing the critic of similar behavior or hypocrisy. |
| Red fish | It distracts from the original topic by diverting attention to another topic. |
| False equality | He treats the two situations as equivalent when the important difference is ignored. |
| Deviation | It avoids direct engagement with the original claim, question, or evidence. |
Examples of Whataboutism
| A genuine claim | Whataboutism Response | Why It Weakens Conversation |
|---|---|---|
| “You didn’t contribute to the team project.” | “What about Jordan? He missed the first meeting.” | Jordan’s behavior may matter, but it doesn’t answer whether the student contributed. |
| “This source does not support your claim.” | “What about the other group? Their source was also weak.” | The answer shifts attention away from the quality of the current debate. |
| “That statement was wrong.” | “What about all the unfair things people say about me?” | The second story may be true, but it doesn’t solve the first. |
Why Whataboutism Feels Inspiring
Whataboutism is tempting because it usually contains only a fraction of the truth. Another issue may be reality. Comparisons may reveal hypocrisy. The person being criticized may feel really picked on. This is why whataboutism can be difficult to detect in real time.
The problem is that the actual comparison may still be meaningless. A student can be honest that someone else failed to help with the project, when he still needed to answer for his role. An author can clearly identify the bias of another source, while still needing to support the claim he is making.
Key differences: A useful comparison helps clarify the first issue. Whataboutism avoids the first problem by replacing it with another.
Problem: Changing the Question
The main problem with whataboutism is that it changes the question being discussed. Instead of asking, “Is this claim true?” or “Was this action justified?” the conversation moves on to a different question: “Has anyone else done the same or worse?”
That change can make the conversation come full circle. It can also make accountability almost impossible, because every claim can be answered by another claim, every criticism by another criticism, and every problem with a different problem.
For students studying argument, discussion, and evidence-based reasoning, this is an important distinction. Critical critical thinking requires staying with a question long enough to explore it. This is also why classroom tools such as critical thinking questions, questioning strategies, and the Socratic Seminar can help students distinguish between appropriate comparisons and easy deviations.
How to Respond to Whataboutism
- Back to the original application: “That may be good to talk about, but does it answer the question we started with?”
- Separate issues: “We can check that next. First, let’s finish this claim.”
- Request compatibility: “How does that example change whether this claim is accurate?”
- Agree without agreeing: “That may be a problem, but it doesn’t solve this one.”
The conclusion
Whataboutism is a speech diversion that avoids answering a claim by diverting attention to a different issue. Whataboutism weakens reasoning when it uses comparison to avoid proof, responsibility, or the first question. For students, the goal is not to stop asking questions ‘About what?’ but to ask more precisely: What does the comparison clarify, and what question remains to be answered?
Reference: Merriam-Webster defines whataboutism as responding to a charge by saying that another charge is the same or worse. See Merriam-Webster: Whataboutism.
