News26th Feb 2025
#CANCELCULTURE: nightmare of this digital age or road to public responsibility?
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You have probably heard of cases of a well-known personality or company whose image has suffered greatly after a major scandal broke out. The phenomenon of cancel culture, in other words, the popular practice of group defamation, where people primarily on social networks express their disapproval of the actions of individuals or companies, massively criticize them and put social pressure on them to correct their behavior, publicly apologize or completely stop supporting the "perpetrators", has been making a stir on social networks for a good ten years now, and it is not treating anybody with kid gloves.
If you think that cancel culture only affects the world of chronically online people, you are terriblz wrong. Over the past decade (the start of the term cancel culture is attributed to 2015), many celebrities or companies have lost not only reputation, business, collaborations but also relationships. Social media has thus become a place of modern public judgment.
Social networks as a modern court of law, where verdicts are made in seconds
In the digital age, social networks are no longer just a place for sharing content and creating communities, but also a kind of people's courtroom. The wave of criticism can be so strong that it can destroy a career, image or business built up over several years in a matter of days. On the other hand, it also has the power to catapult someone into the spotlight. How does this 'internet tribunal' work and who gets into the dock?
Instant verdict, no waiting!
The phenomenon of public sentencing is not new; you are familiar with blacklists. The difference today is that individuals can express their opinion publicly and immediately, many times, unfortunately, without any verification of the information. Public opinion is formed extremely quickly on social networks.
Evidence against the 'accused'? Screenshots of conversations, acts caught on video, old social media posts. Many times, it takes very little and the fate of the person in question is sealed. The battle to protect reputations begins, public opinion changes within days or even hours. What follows can have long-lasting consequences, not just a sudden lost of followers.
In the past, when social media did not exist, the traditional media was the main source of information. Public opinion was slower to form, and allegations or cases reached the public through investigative reporting or tabloids. Celebrities and companies had time to react, issue statements and sometimes manage a reputational crisis without fatal consequences. And many cases were simply swept under the rug.
Social media has allowed 'cancellation' of public figures to become a mass phenomenon, with the public often replacing the traditional media in deciding who 'deserves' to be the victim of hate and shame.
Can you survive cancel culture?
Well-known personalities or companies can come under fire from critics unexpectedly and extremely quickly, but they also have the chance to immediately defend themselves and express their opinion before the total avalanche of hate is unleashed. Rather than waiting for press releases or making statements through PR agencies, they can manage the communication themselves and thus have more control over the narrative. However, here you're walking on a very thin ice, it only takes one insincere statement for the whole situation to escalate - case in point is influencer and Youtuber James Charles, whose public apology in 2019 was deemed insufficient by a modern social media court, triggering an avalanche of hate as well as the whole 'revocation' process.
What's actually on the side of defense? Mainly the die-hard fans who don't believe the accusations and come to your rescue. But that won't be enough for the modern public court - transparency and quick reaction, not shirking responsibility, actively addressing the issue or not underestimating the PR crisis are key. Ultimately, it comes down to accepting responsibility, publicly apology and seeking redress. No one can hide what has come to light anymore, but you can still minimize the damage. The internet will forgive you. But it won't forget.
The other side of the coin: when you're forced to take responsibility for your actions
Not everything is black and white when it comes to cancel culture. Although the term carries negative connotations, it often helps to expose cases of, for example, sexual harassment, discrimination or abuse of power. It has the ability to give a voice to victims who would not otherwise speak out, and public pressure is forcing companies and celebrities alike to be more accountable. In many cases, it brings justice and highlights systemic problems that would otherwise go unnoticed. Let's face it, the more power and fame people have, the more they tend to act privileged and out-of-touch, as they are almost 'untouchable'. The problem is that it can very quickly slide into inappropriate vilification, when often family members of the 'accused' are attacked.
From cancel culture to digital public responsibility?
Cancel culture is essentially a form of cyberbullying. While it has the power to expose real problems, force individuals or companies to take responsibility, and has led to significant movements such as #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter, we must also look at its long-term impact. Some experts agree that it turns complex social problems into black-and-white trials, where social networks are judge, jury and executioner at the same time, and focuses on individuals instead of solving systemic problems, i.e. 'abolishing' them.
As long as we don't get blinded by the huge wave of hate, we may one day be able to turn cancel culture into a righteous tool for exposing toxic or even illegal behavior and promoting social change. But what are the rules of this new digital law? Can due process be ensured at all? These remain open questions to which there is no clear answer yet.
Read more about cancel culture cases:
Kauza Bill Cosby shows, how social media brought up old news to a new audience
Značka Bud Light pod paľbou kritiky due to their collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney
Kauza Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni, dividing the world in two sides
Sources: Cancel culture: Shrinking or Remaking Narratives? / Info.cz / Why Cancel Culture by Anyone Is Harmful and Wrong / Is Cancel Culture Effective
