I find little solace in this whataboutism.
Again, it's a trendy buzzword to use but it literally isn't a catch all shield to argue that it's fine when we do it. When there's no proof of something happening, maybe we should focus on the thing that we know is happening instead of chasing literal ghosts
2) Your burden of proof might be different from mine, but one needs to be pretty naive to think that the CCP doesn't surveil western citizens. I doubt their intelligence apparatus is that bad at their job. In fact, I have plenty of reason to believe it's pretty great at it.
[0] https://www.csis.org/analysis/how-chinese-communist-party-us...
[1] https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/04/27/china-ccp-spying-us-pol...
So, you don't mind being spied on by someone who was already caught spying on their own citizens, (assuming that you're from USA), has access to you, your finances, can lock you up, can suicide you in jail, etc., but you're afraid of china who has access to none of those powers?
It certainly isn't pointing out hypocrisy, establishing a common standard or a cureall in online discussions.
I've seen a proper "whataboutism" been used but only once (by a malfunctioning redditor from Eglin Airforce Base).
