Digital lynching: concept, reasons and types


After the inclusion of the social networks at all levels of life, a world without them is unimaginable. Personally, these digital tools connect us with our friends, family and circle of interest. Professionally, they are information channels that allow both clients and brands to stay in touch.

But, what happens when a mistake is made or when the freedom of expression of some violates others? It is common to see social networks how large groups of people unite for a certain cause to the point of achieving some social change. This is not bad. As long as what is pursued does not motivate hatred and affect the physical or emotional integrity of a person or brand. The latter is part of what is known as digital lynching.

digital lynching

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Several authors agree that the digital lynching is the result of attacking, insulting and harassing by the social networks to a person or entity. In this sense, Engage, within the framework of his tenth anniversary, held a discussion where he addressed the phenomenon of digital lynching and here are the details:

“A digital lynching It is like a snowball that begins with a comment, a photograph, a recording or a video that originates and goes viral in the social networks. Then it migrates to other spaces: web portals, digital and traditional media”, explained Guzmán and Núñez (2021) and was highlighted by Stella León, president of the communications company.

These viral manifestations against a person or opinion arise as a result of the freedoms that are allowed with new technologies and the appearance and growth of social platforms. The digital lynching it has evolved and has become a practice that, despite generating controversy, is almost normalized.

Freedom of expression

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Stella Leon considers that the digital lynching it is a pandemic that has contaminated all the channels of the digital environment and is spreading before harmful audiences. For her, many users of social networks They only reply to those who are in charge of doing damage. And beyond having an immense social concern and being critical, they choose to do harm.

“Digital lynching is the extreme debauchery of giving your ideas without showing your face” Stella Leon Partner-President of Engage

Types of digital lynching

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According to Ana María Olabuenaga, author of the book “Digital lynchings”, there are four types of digital lynchings: discrimination, political, ideological and commercial.

“It is one thing for a person to be lynched for having an opinion or belief different from that of others, to when a person is singled out and lynched for having made a mistake, and by “mistake” I mean a comment, photograph, recording, video, etc”, says Raúl Baz.

Reasons for digital lynching

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  • Passion: the human being tends to judge impartially and places his ideas and beliefs (religious, political and social) on the objectivity of any fact. This action hinders any possibility of dialogue and learning.
  • social resentment: the excess of information feeds morbidity and exposes human beings to consume false news, creating social resentment that comes out in punishments towards those who make mistakes.
  • Disinformation: sometimes we issue judgments and opinions without investigating, something dangerous in the digital environment. Since an uninformed conversation can produce a reputational crisis and unleash negative consequences for the lynched person. It is one thing to point out what is wrong, and another to blame and punish.
  • Judge: It’s easy to see other people’s mistakes without seeing our own. Or pretend that public figures can’t make mistakes.
  • Viralization: when the news or conversations on social networks become viral gives rise to opinions and criticism, which initiates the digital lynching of a brand or person.
  • Social pressure: the need or obligation that the environment submits to you to have an opinion or criticism of a viral topic or what they call “riding the wave” leads many to “go with the flow” and join the lynching.
  • false responsibility: the users of social networks They have the false belief that it is their responsibility and obligation to lynch people with economic capital, as well as companies or institutions that violate the rights of third parties.
  • We are perfect: in the social networks we all consider ourselves geniuses and perfect, leading us to invalidate the mistakes of others.
  • Passive users: in social networks there are passive users who share these conversations in other media such as Whatsapp and are also part of the problem.

Would you say in person what you dare to say on social media?

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One of the problems of social networks that contribute to digital lynching it is the permission that many people feel to say things that they might not dare to say in person. Some from false accounts, others using their identity, but in both cases with the certainty that their accusations or criticisms will not receive a response or a consequence of the same size as their “opinion”.

it can happen to me

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Example: Juan works in an underwear factory and was accused of stealing 100 pairs of socks. His case was exposed in social networks, appeared on digital portals and his name and image occupied the pages of the newspapers. It may be true or it may not be, but Juan and his family live the consequences of that accusation.

They all give their opinion about Juan, they talk about how their children will be the same, or what can be expected from the children of a thief? They talk about his wife, they say that she is an accomplice, that she went on a trip with the money from the stockings. Some bet that Juan stole with his lover…

In the end, the people behind their cell phones create false stories, accuses and assumes situations that are not real or that have not yet been verified by a relevant body and their families pay the consequences.

Lynching is the degeneration of justice”, says Stella León, referring to the digital statements and judgments that people create by taking any criticism or complaint to a personal level.

Social networks: a means of social empowerment

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In an article published in Let’s talk about psychologythe author Raúl Baz affirms that the social networks have become the perfect means of social empowerment and that the digital lynching It is not a term created to criticize digital platforms.

Furthermore, they claim that the social networks they are the new form of communication and today they have given a voice to many people. Although they also give the gap to the abuse of social empowerment: “The problem does not lie in the presence of public opinion by itself, since it is presented as one of the authentic manifestations of social justice,” Sivira assured in Public opinion in the net.

Engage addressed the topic with the aim of educating and promoting better use of social networkswithin an environment of respect and care for the reputation.

“When we publish we must first think about what we want to say and then how to say it. We can be critical, not critical. We can raise our voices to denounce what was done badly, but not disrespect people” Stella Leon Partner-President of Engage

Source-www.diariolibre.com