• BrainInABox@lemmy.ml
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    4 days ago

    whataboutism is when you use irrelevant topics to incorrectly prove a point.

    Yes, which is exactly what they did.

    • moomoomoo309@programming.dev
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      4 days ago

      No, it’s really not. Once they said “litmus test”, that makes it clear they’re doing it intentionally, not as a logical fallacy - it’s gauging bias on common topics, which is relevant to a discussion on bias and propaganda. It’s not a series of seemingly-related non-sequiturs that have nothing to do with the topic at hand.

      I’d love to be proven wrong here - how is what they brought up not relevant to the topic of bias and propaganda, especially wrt the west?

      • BrainInABox@lemmy.ml
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        4 days ago

        Running some McCarthyist “litmus test” is irrelevant to what I said. At best it’s whataboutism, at worst it’s just fishing for an ad-hominem.

        how is what they brought up not relevant to the topic

        Literally 100% or instances of liberals using the term whataboutism are them referring to something that is relevant to the general topic.

        • moomoomoo309@programming.dev
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          4 days ago

          Oh, it’s definitely ad-hominem, that I agree with - they were literally testing your biases, as they stated. I don’t think it’s whataboutism, just ad hominem, actually. They’re accusing you of being as biased as anyone else, then asking a shibboleth to prove their point - the whole premise is ad hominem at that point. I think the differentiating factor is that the questions were about your beliefs, not about the actual events they brought up.

          • BrainInABox@lemmy.ml
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            4 days ago

            An ad-hominem is whataboutism: “Whatabout this thing that’s bad about you!” It’s an attempt to distract from the point with an irrelevant distraction.

            • moomoomoo309@programming.dev
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              4 days ago

              You’re right! I thought the meaning of whataboutism was more specific than it was, you just have to respond to an accusation with another accusation, that’s it! TIL