Cancel culture: a check on public figures or an act of iconoclastism?

Few months ago The renowned author of the popular magic book series; " Harry Potter '', J.K Rowling was "cancelled" for a succession of online posts and activities that were perceived as being transphobic, by many LGBYQ+ activists. Rowling who took to her Twitter account to support a woman who was fired for her anti transgender remarks has suffered a backlash as netizens criticized her heavily.

Usually celebrities, politicians are the victims of call out culture. What then is this trendy action?

What is canceling culture?

Cancel culture or call out culture according to Wikipedia is " a phrase contemporary to the late 2010s and early 2020s used to refer to a form of ostracism in which someone is thrown out of social or professional circle – whether it is online or in person"¹ because of actions deemed wrong and not worthy of their status.

How it is done.

Before a person can be cancelled he/she would be first called out on social media to draw the public attention to the individual's actions that were perceived erroneous. Then the cancel campaign for ensues.² The cancelling can take many forms, one of which is exerting pressure on government organizations in the case of criminal offences, boycotting of their products if the person is in the business world. And also withdrawing support for the individual.

Merit:

Call out culture though might be wrong at times, yet it gives room for oppressed people to voice out their discontentments and seek accountability when the justice system fails them. It serves as a democratic tool to check on the actions of people who we once thought are invincible and can't be held for their deeds.

Demerits:

It is a form of online bullying and can incite violence and disrupt social order. People cancelled are often victims of mob action and iconoclastism because the netizens are not usually after the truth. Recent wrongful calling out has shown that people can be illogical especially when their emotions are involved. For instance netizens would not hesitate to cancel an actor accused of sexual harassment even if he is still innocent.

Hence, a space has been created for victim playing in the future since netizens would fail to investigate the matter well.

Reference:

Cancel culture <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancel_culture#:~:text=Cancel%20culture%20or%20call%2Dout,to%20have%20been%20%22cancelled%22.>

2. Britannica Pros and cons of call out culture<https://www.britannica.com/story/pro-and-con-is-cancel-culture-good-for-society>.