whataboutism
[ hwuht-uh-bou-tiz-uhm, wuht‐, hwot‐, wot‐ ]
/ ˌʰwʌt əˈbaʊ tɪz əm, ˌwʌt‐, ˌʰwɒt‐, ˌwɒt‐ /
noun
a conversational tactic in which a person responds to an argument or attack by changing the subject to focus on someone else’s misconduct, implying that all criticism is invalid because no one is completely blameless: Excusing your mistakes with whataboutism is not the same as defending your record.
Origin of whataboutism
First recorded in 2000–05; from the phrase
what about? +
-ism
Words nearby whataboutism
what've,
what-if,
what-you-may-call-it,
whata,
whataboutery,
whataboutism,
whatchamacallit,
whate'er,
whatever,
whatevs,
whatnot