Canceled, revoked and uncancellable

the culture of cancellation in the press and social-digital networks

Abstract

The culture of cancellation is an expression used to refer to a form of ostracism in which someone is removed from social or professional circles for their offensive conduct. This article discusses the characteristics of this process in cyberspace, based on a documentary survey of the press and the social-digital network X between 2018 and 2022. The objective was to demonstrate the presence of patterns and recurrences in the practice of cancelation against public figures, suggesting that there are three main types: canceled, revoked and uncancellable. A total of 18 cases of cancellation with major repercussions in Brazilian society were analyzed, of which 4 were selected to indicate the existence of these typologies. The results indicate that the culture of cancellation, although multifaceted, has characteristics specific to each type. In general, its implications point to the cultural and political relevance of the debate on the impact of socio-digital networks on offline social behaviour, since the results reveal the possibility of public reaction and expression of opinion to practices and discourses considered morally offensive, in particular to historically marginalized and oppressed groups.