Protesters march on Hiawatha Avenue while decrying the killing of George Floyd on May 26, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (SBG) — Growing calls for activism and political change appear to be evoking the effects of "cancel culture."
Video: Sinclair Broadcast Group
Ivanka Trump blames cancel culture for the reason her commencement speech at Wichita State University Tech was canceled. The school's president said in a statement the decision to make the change came after realizing the timing was "insensitive" following protests over the death of George Floyd.
Ivanka Trump called it "viewpoint discrimination."
However, President Donald Trump has proven to be one of the quickest people to pull support for someone when they disagree with him or their loyalty wavers, like he did to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, last week when she said she appreciated former Defense Secretary James Mattis' critique of the president's handling of protesters.
Trump tweeted he would endorse any opponent of Murkowski's as long as they have a pulse.
When the now former editorial page editor for The New York Times James Bennet resigned Sunday following widespread criticism for running an opinion piece by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. about the use of military troops in American cities, Cotton put the paper on blast.
“They totally surrendered to a woke, child mob from their own newsroom that apparently gets triggered when they’re presented with any opinion contrary to their own," Cotton said on Fox News.
Cancel culture appears to be evolving beyond labeling an individual as "canceled" after they do or say something offensive. Group all-or-nothing mentality is manifesting into broader political thought on both sides of the aisle with calls to dismantle entire institutions. Whether or not this thinking is productive is yet to be seen.
Many aligned with the Black Lives Matter movement have called for defunding police departments, which can mean a variety of things. These calls are widely criticized by Republicans, some of whom advocate for defunding public schools.
When it comes to cancel culture playing out online, not all the blame can be placed on people. Researchers at Michigan State University found the algorithms of social media platforms are designed to amplify outrage.
“Sometimes we end up looking like we are very divided because the algorithms are only showing things that will get extreme reactions," Anjana Susarla, a researcher of information economics at MSU said.
According to Susarla's findings, these algorithms make it so a post is more likely to go viral if it evokes an intense emotion.
“That can end up reinforcing these you know, social effects," Susarla said.
Susarla points out that being "canceled" isn't always permanent. Since their respective scandals, comedians Kevin Hart and Louis C.K. have each managed to work again.
While temporary for some individuals, the effects of cancel culture may have a long term effect on our political culture.
As former President Barack Obama said in 2019, “If all you’re doing is casting stones, you’re probably not gonna get that far.”