Whataboutism
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Whataboutism is a form of Soviet propaganda to counter criticism (usually from "the West") with a "What about ...?" question vaguely related to the original question asked. It is a specialized form of the tu quoque fallacy and is usually mixed in with a healthy dose of balance fallacy. In Putin's Russia this propaganda technique has made a comeback, especially since the (ongoing) Ukraine conflict. During the Soviet era, this was usually in the form of "And at your house, they hang black people".
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[edit] Examples
- Russia's invasion of Ukraine was legit because "average" American citizens can't pinpoint Ukraine on a map without pre-drawn borders.[1]
- Eastern Ukraine should be independent because the West allowed Kosovo to become independent,[2] a situation that is superficially similar but not the same.
- Russia invading a nation is okay because IRAQ.[3]
- After the Chernobyl disaster the Soviets were quick to point out the Three Mile Island incident and other minor mishaps with nuclear reactors in the US. None are even close to the scale of Chernobyl.[4]
- A complaint about the excessive bureaucracy involved in getting some clothes dry-cleaned was met with a complaint about the difficulty in getting a UK visa for Russian citizens.[5]
- A non-Russian example involves right-wing British politicians and media responding to every allegation of misconduct and murder of innocent people by their armed forces with "what about terrorist group X", be it the Taliban or the IRA. If a group of criminals murdering people gives the government the right to murder completely unrelated people for no reason, the human race won't be around for long. Ironic in the extreme that in these debates nationalists argue their own government's foreign policy can be compared to terrorist groups.
- North Korea and, to a lesser extent, the People's Republic of China are also big fans of this tactic.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- And you are lynching Negroes[wp]
- The Economist article that popularized the term