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No. 283 · Evidence · Fallacy

Tu Quoque

Pointing out that a critic does the same thing does not make the criticism wrong.

Tu Quoque, Latin for you too, deflects a criticism by accusing the critic of the same behaviour. At Nuremberg, the tribunal refused to accept you did it too as a general defence, and Huawei's references to US surveillance did not answer the concerns about its own equipment.

When you are criticised, ask first whether the point is true, regardless of who made it. Treat the charge and the critic's consistency as two separate questions.

In the Almanac

“The Nuremberg trials”, 1946 · “Huawei”, 2019

Both stories in full, three ways to use it and where it misleads.

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Tu Quoque: The "You Too" Fallacy

Questions

What is Tu Quoque?

Tu Quoque, Latin for you too, deflects a criticism by accusing the critic of the same behaviour. At Nuremberg, the tribunal refused to accept you did it too as a general defence, and Huawei's references to US surveillance did not answer the concerns about its own equipment.

How do you avoid Tu Quoque?

When you are criticised, ask first whether the point is true, regardless of who made it. Treat the charge and the critic's consistency as two separate questions.

When does Tu Quoque matter?

Tu Quoque is one of the 68 mental models for evidence, the situations where you ask: Is this really true? Within that, it belongs to “Spotting a bad argument”, alongside Ad Hominem, Appeal to Authority and Appeal to Emotion.

What is an example of Tu Quoque?

Two stories show it at work: The Nuremberg trials (1946) and Huawei (2019). Both are told in full in The Mental Models Daily Almanac, which has two stories for each of its 365 models.

Which mental models are related to Tu Quoque?

Ad Hominem, Blind Spot Bias and Self-Serving Bias. Tu Quoque itself comes from fallacy.