Whataboutism
Also called: What about…?
Answering a criticism by pointing at someone else's faults instead of dealing with it.
How to spot it
The reply starts with “what about…” and never comes back to the original point.
Example
“Your department overspent by a third.” “What about the department next door? They overspent too.”
How to answer it
Agree that the other case is worth looking at, then bring it back: “Maybe so, but is what I said true?” Two people can both be wrong.
Related
- Tu quoque: Dismissing a criticism by pointing out that the critic does the same thing.
- Red herring: Slipping in a different topic to lead the discussion away from the point.
- False equivalence: Treating two things as equal because they share one feature.