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Whataboutism is a term for the Tu quoque logical fallacy popularized by The Economist for describing the use of the fallacy by the Soviet Union in its dealings with the Western world during the Cold War. The tactic was used when criticisms were leveled at the Soviet Union, wherein the response would be "What about..." followed by the naming of an event in the Western world loosely similar to the original item of criticism. It represents a case of tu quoque or the appeal to hypocrisy, a logical fallacy which attempts to discredit the opponent's position by asserting the opponent's failure to act consistently in accordance with that position, without directly refuting or disproving the opponent's initial argument.

Overview

At the end of the Cold War, the usage of the tactic began dying out, but saw a resurgence in modern Russia in relation to a number of human rights violations and other criticisms expressed to the Russian government. The Guardian writer Miriam Elder discussed how the tactic is used especially by Vladimir Putin's government and his spokesman, but also how most criticisms on human rights violations have generally gone unanswered. However, Elder's article on the difficulty of dry-cleaning in Moscow was responded to instead, with a whataboutism on the difficulty of obtaining a visa to the United Kingdom. In July 2012, RIA Novosti columnist Konstantin von Eggert wrote an article about the use of whataboutism in relation to Russian and American support for different governments in the Middle East.

Although Whataboutism cannot be confined to any particular race or belief system, according to The Economist, it is a tactic often overused by Russians. There are two methods of properly countering Whataboutism. The first is to "use points made by Russian leaders themselves" so that they cannot be applied to a Western nation and the second method is for Western nations to apply more self-criticism in its media and its governmental statements.

See also

• Whataboutery
• Tu quoque
• And you are lynching Negroes
• Unclean hands

References

1. ^ Staff writer (January 31, 2008). "Whataboutism". The Economist. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
2. Staff writer (December 11, 2008). "The West is in danger of losing its moral authority". European Voice. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
3. Miriam Elder (April 26, 2012). "Want a response from Putin's office? Russia's dry-cleaning is just the ticket". The Guardian. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
4. Konstantin von Eggert (July 25, 2012). "Due West: 'Whataboutism' Is Back - and Thriving". RIA Novosti.

• Propaganda in the Soviet Union
• Cold War terminology