Affective economies of racism on social media
New media technologies and social networks have not only opened up spaces for civic engagement and democratic participation, but have also offered alternative sites for the proliferation and circulation of racist, homophobic and xenophobic sentiment. This article draws on Ahmed’s idea of “affective...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
University of Johannesburg
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Communicare |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1521 |
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| Summary: | New media technologies and social networks have not only opened up spaces for civic engagement
and democratic participation, but have also offered alternative sites for the proliferation and
circulation of racist, homophobic and xenophobic sentiment. This article draws on Ahmed’s idea
of “affective economies” and Ekman’s (2019) notion of “affective publics” to investigate how white
supremacist groups in South Africa have used social media to express racist views, attitudes and
sentiments. The internet in general and social networks in particular are based on a libertarian
logic that emphasises freedom of speech at the expense of the rights of minorities whose views
may not meet the required algorithmic thresholds of specific social media sites. While governments
around the world have put in place laws to deal with overt racism and hate speech, online platforms
remain new battlegrounds for the articulation of racist views and sentiments. The findings of the
study show that white supremacist groups in South Africa use social media as a platform to recontextualise
and re-mediate topical issues in South African society and ramp up group solidarity
by circulating racist views that undermine and de-legitimise the ruling party (the African National
Congress) and its policies.
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| ISSN: | 0259-0069 2957-7950 |