What it means
Whataboutism refers to the practice of deflecting criticism by pointing to the misdeeds of others.
Oxford Dictionaries defines it as “the technique or practice of responding to an accusation or difficult question by making a counter-accusation or raising a different issue.”
Essentially, it’s an appeal to hypocrisy ― a logical fallacy also known as “
tu quoque.” Instead of proving that your opponent’s claim is wrong on its face, whataboutism argues that it’s hypocritical of the opponent to make that claim at all. (
Oh, you think I shouldn’t cheat on a test? What about that time you took a crib sheet into your calculus exam last year?!)
“What about the alt-left?" Trump asked, providing a textbook example of whataboutism in the aftermath of violence in Charlottesville.
www.huffpost.com
It was the first time I even typed that here so I don't know how you claim it's my response to everything.