Whataboutism exists to show fucks like you contradictions in your beliefs, not to excuse what is happening. Opposition is so strong in any capitalist country nowadays, isn't it? Freedom of speech is universal right, until couple of journalists say something too "freespeachy". Sure, making people to vote between two indistinguishable candidates is fine, but when one guy wins throughout the years - FREEDOM IS LOST, AUTHORITARIANISM IS ON THE RISE. Play pretend game of thinking that these two are so different, that one can be called democracy and other is fascistic dystopia is really funny.
AND OF COURSE THERE IS A FUCKING NAZI SLOGAN IN THE FLAIR, HOW VERY DEMOCRATIC.
I don't have a link, but look up journalist Michael Bernard who started using the term to criticize the Soviet Union "deflecting" human rights abuse accusations by the US, in the 1970s. Shortly after his article got published in a local Australian newspaper, the term started getting used everywhere in the West regarding the Soviet Union, indicating a concerted effort, as there were direct references to the article (e.g. New York Times articles referencing an unknown Australian journalist writing for a small local magazine).
There's another story that it was invented by a British journalist for doing the same criticism for the IRA, but it never really got popular until Michael Bernard used it in his own article.