How the NYT covered 100,000 AIDS deaths

[Duncan Grant]

4. Compare and contrast is an acceptable method to critique both history and culture.

The subject here is the reporting done by one institution (NYT).

It’s not as if we’re arguing who offers the best or worst news coverage: NYT or Washington Post?

Whataboutism is propaganda or “public relations” between 2 or more competing factions (governments, airlines, hotels, sports teams, etc.) for the purposes of “winning”.

If we were to look at performance stats for a baseball player over three consecutive seasons, that’s not “whataboutism”. But once we critique two players from different teams — you’re bound to hear, “What about...”.

Please keep this in mind the next time you’re tempted to trivialize 100,000 AIDS deaths.