The Tensions of Mediated Outrage: Performing Dissent Toward and Through Digital Platforms

Abstract

Outrage is widely perceived as a pervasive and problematic feature of media platforms. Recent concerns posit the erosion of public dialogue through issues such as mob-driven censorship and the commodification of emotions. These concerns are not simply about outrage itself, but outrage that has been shaped in some way by digital platforms - that is, mediated outrage. What is particularly interesting about mediated outrage is that it often targets the very digital platforms through which it is performed. In this sense digital platforms act as both the mediator and target of outrage. This thesis explores this dynamic, asking - How do digital platforms act as both mediators and targets of outrage? I explore this question through a mixed methods analysis of three case studies: the 2021 Spotify boycott as it developed on Twitter, the GameStop short squeeze that began and unfolded through Reddit, and the #TwitterMigration to Mastodon following Elon Musk's acquisition of the platform in 2022. These empirical accounts reveal various tensions through which mediated outrage operates. This means understanding mediated outrage through its various potentials, challenges, and contradictions. These tensions are analytically rich, offering unique insight into how outrage manifests on, with, and through platforms.

Through the case studies, I develop and apply a conceptual model which covers the spread, social functions and moral actions of mediated outrage. Each component of the model is emphasized in a contained case study, after which I weave the pieces together. Specifically, I explore spread through the Spotify boycott; social functions through the GameStop short squeeze on Reddit, and moral actions through the #TwitterMigration. Within each component of the model I locate a general tension. First, on the spread - mediated outrage rapidly captures public attention, but spreads in a way that is constricted by, and reproduces, existing expressive access. Second, on the social functions - mediated outrage fosters cohesion and collectivity, but does so through various forms of exclusion. Finally, on the moral actions - mediated outrage fuels collective action against platforms' perceived moral violations, but the mediation of this action shapes dissent within the platforms' logics.

This thesis provides a two-fold contribution. First, the conceptual model gives a lens through which to explore the complexity of outrage events that both target and are performed on digital platforms. This lens extends beyond my case studies and retains broad relevance within a highly digitized communication sphere. Second, the thesis advances sociological theories of media, drawing on and adding to accounts of platform ambivalence. This perspective challenges bifurcated claims that attach neat value judgements to social media platforms as sites of social and political dissent. Show more