04-04-2025
'Whataboutism' Has Made Civil Debate On Social Media Nearly Impossible
Whataboutism makes it impossible to have civil conversations online today.
No matter the topic – especially those about politics and world affairs – it is impossible to have any civil debate on social media without someone responding by making a counter-accusation. This isn't new, but it has taken such a deep foothold in American politics in recent years, and it isn't hard to see why.
According to a 2021 report from the Christian Science Monitor, "The term first appeared in English in 1974 (as whataboutery) during the 'troubles' in Northern Ireland, when both sides used this technique to justify the cycle of shootings and bombings. But whataboutism had been perfected decades before, in the propaganda of the former Soviet Union."
It didn't die with the dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War, and instead has been employed in Russia in recent years as well, and Russian President Vladimir Putin used the rhetorical technique to defend his nation's illegal annexation of Crimea by pointing to annexations made by other countries. It didn't defend the action, but simply noted other nations had seized territory, including the U.S. annexing Texas in the 1840s!
Politicians on both sides of the aisle in the U.S. have also long employed similar arguments of whataboutism rather than actually defending their policies. Yet, in the social media era, practically any online post is met with a counteraccusation. This is also known as the "Tu Quoque Gambit," from the Latin for "You Also."
"It's no surprise that whataboutism happened so much on social media because it's an easy argument to make, as you're pointing out the perceived inconsistency on the other side," explained Scott Talan, senior professorial lecturer of public communication at American University. "But we have to remember that consistency and politics was never something that happened too much, and this is going back a long time."
Today, whataboutism is the result of our deeply divided country, while it will ensure that the rift isn't healed.
Talan warned that it impacts the context of any political discussion, and that it is used to suggest that "an argument lacks any merit. It's sort of pointing out what you believe to be is a flaw about the other side."
It isn't just the use of counteraccusations on social media that can derail otherwise constructive conversations. Slightly off-topic comments can derail it so far away from the original point, and it isn't always done with malice.
"What is the context here?" Talan noted, and he said that whatabout something else can void the conversation. Efforts to get the discussion back on track can in turn create conflict.
This is especially worrisome when so many Americans use social media as their source of news and information. Instead of actual reporting, social media can offer a stream of consciousness that often misses key nuances. Worse still, it often results into an unnecessary debate that is far from constructive.
"I am worn out by this talking at each other instead of to each other," said Amy E. Bonebright, assistant professor of journalism at Liberty University. "Instead of the issue at hand being debated, more time is spent trying to prove the other side was in the wrong as well. Nothing moves forward – it's just stuck in the toddler-like argument stage. Even beyond that is the lack of being able to say the issue at hand was wrong then and it's wrong now, even if that means speaking against our side."
