whataboutism

[ hwuht-uh-bou-tiz-uhm, wuht‐, hwot‐, wot‐ ]

noun

1. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of whataboutism¹

First recorded in 1975–80; from the phrase what about? + -ism ( def )