Daniel Trottier
| Format | recording |
|---|---|
| Language | english |
| Context | Researcher working on the use of digital media for the purposes of scrutiny, denunciation and shaming |
Daniel Trottier is a researcher working on the use of digital media for the purposes of scrutiny, denunciation and shaming. He is currently working on a five-year project entitled “Digital Vigilantism: Mapping the terrain and assessing societal impacts”.
I listened to Daniel presenting some of his research at Café Stalles in Rotterdam. The lecture focused on cancel culture, which was a relevant topic to my research as well. Cancel culture, and other ways of online shaming, are deeply connected to online moderation and the desire to oversee public discourse.
A few weeks later, I talked with Daniel Trottier about his views on cancel culture and justice-seeking, improving our social media platforms, and user guidelines. The recording of that conversation is here.
Keyframes:
- 0:21 What is cancel culture and where it comes from
- 4:52 Taking justice with one’s own hands
- 6:00 Using denunciatory strategies: from activism to the alt-right
- 8:20 Discussing the platform role, platform politics and future interventions
- 14:21 Codes of conduct, new user guidelines, limitations within free speech
- 18:14 Consuming people reputations as entertainment: Big Brother and Keeping up with the Kardashians
- 20:12 Engaging with these practices vs lurking and staying on the margins
Questions raised:
In this conversation, we focused on the process of exclusion, of kicking out who doesn't obey the rules. What comes after calling out someone? What comes after the boycott and where is that meant to end? What is acceptable or not on social media? Who’s deciding the rules? Whose morality are we going to follow? Can users come back stronger from their mistakes and how does privilege change that comeback?
Rafael Durão composed the jingle for this project.
