How can I respond to Whataboutism?

The three general approaches to convincing people are:

  1. Overwhelming evidence.

    This was discussed on “You’re not so smart” podcast covering Backfire effect, in essence, there’s a threshold at which that cognitive system breaks a dam, so to speak, and starts incorporating conflicting facts.

    But one, or two, or three, facts, would not be enough.

  2. Use proper framing.

    According to Moral Foundations theory; conservatives and liberals are swayed not by different facts; but by different framing of the facts.

    E.g. to convince a conservative, you frame things in terms of loyalty and patriotism; to convince a liberal, in terms of “fairness”.

  3. Don’t use facts.

    Experts on persuasion generally state that facts are the weakest way to persuade someone. Emotions etc… are far more effective.

    If you don’t believe experts on persuasion becsause they weren’t persuasive enough, here’s a fact for you: psychologists confirmed that finding.

  4. Stop using personal attacks, or things that seem like personal attacks.

    “Donald Trump’s racism” – to anyone who voted for Trump for reasons other than being racist, this mainly sounds like you are accusing THEM of supporting racism. This sounds cathartic and profound among your circle of Trump opponents – but has absolutely the opposite effect when talking to a Trump voter.