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Brand New Thoughts/Logic & Rhetoric
Is That Actually Whataboutism? The Difference Between a Deflection and a Consistency Test
Pointing to another case can be a cheap distraction. It can also be exactly what a good argument requires. The difference is relevance.
By ElleJanelle|August 6, 2026|3 min read
"What About...?" Is Not Automatically a Fallacy
The internet has developed a remarkably efficient way to end an argument.
Someone introduces a comparison.
Someone else types: whataboutism.
Conversation over.
But during Those Are Not Heroes, ElleJanelle ran into a problem. She was trying to determine whether she was applying the same moral and political standard to comparable people. That required bringing another case into the conversation.
Was that a fallacy?
Or was comparison exactly what consistency required?
A comparison becomes a problem when it avoids the question. A comparison can also be how you test the question.
Brand New Thoughts
The classic maneuver, and the research on it
Classic whataboutism responds to criticism by pointing to somebody else's misconduct instead of addressing whether the original criticism is valid.
The basic structure looks like this:
A: You did X.
B: But they did Y.
If Y has no bearing on whether B did X, the response is a deflection.
Researchers studying whataboutist rhetoric note that its persuasive force often comes from undermining the credibility of the critic rather than resolving the original allegation. A 2024 study in International Organization examined how whataboutist messages can reduce support for criticism by directing attention toward alleged hypocrisy. Read the Cambridge study.
That is a real rhetorical maneuver.
But it does not make every sentence beginning with "what about" logically defective.
The Consistency Test Looks Similar on the Surface
Suppose someone says:
Anyone who takes money from Company X is morally compromised.
You then discover that the speaker's favorite public figure also took money from Company X.
Asking about the second case is not necessarily avoiding the first one.
It may be testing the scope of the rule.
Do we really mean anyone?
Or did we mean "the person I already dislike"?
That is a legitimate argumentative function.
Philosophy does this constantly. We test principles with new cases to find out whether the rule survives when emotionally convenient details are removed.
Relevance Is the Difference
A useful test is to ask three questions.
1. Does the comparison change the truth of the original claim?
If someone says "Politician A accepted an illegal bribe," responding that Politician B is corrupt does not make A innocent.
That is likely deflection.
2. Is the comparison testing a general principle?
If the claim is "accepting this kind of money always proves corruption," a similar case involving someone the speaker supports can reveal whether the standard is really universal.
That can be relevant.
3. Are the cases actually analogous?
This is where false equivalence enters.
Two situations can share one feature while differing in the feature that matters most.
A consistency test only works if the cases are similar in the dimensions the principle depends on.
Hypocrisy and wrong: two different verdicts
There is another distinction worth preserving.
Proving that a critic is hypocritical does not automatically prove the critic's argument is false.
A smoker can correctly tell you cigarettes are unhealthy.
A corrupt politician can correctly identify corruption in someone else.
So a comparison may expose inconsistent standards without defeating the underlying claim.
That is why strong argumentation keeps multiple questions open at once:
- Is the original behavior wrong?
- Is the comparison relevant?
- Is the speaker applying the same rule consistently?
Those can have three different answers.
Fallacies Are Not Magic Words
During the BNT discussion, ElleJanelle compared flawed logic to bad math.
That metaphor is useful because calling something a fallacy should identify where the reasoning failed.
You cannot simply yell "division error" at an equation you dislike.
You have to show the bad step.
The same should be true of whataboutism.
What was the original proposition?
How does the second case relate to it?
Did the comparison distract from the proposition or test the proposition?
Once you ask those questions, a label becomes an analysis.
The Better Internet Move
The next time somebody says "what about..." do not immediately accept or reject the comparison.
Ask:
What would this second example prove if it were true?
If the answer is "nothing about the original issue," you probably have a deflection.
If the answer is "it shows whether the rule is being applied consistently," keep listening.
The phrase is not the fallacy.
The function is.
Watch the episode
Deflection or consistency test?
Add to the DiscussionWhat is an example of a comparison people call whataboutism that you think is actually relevant, or vice versa?