Tag: Cancel Culture

The act of canceling (American English) or cancelling (British English; see spelling differences), also referred to as cancel culture (a variant on the term “callout culture”) describes a form of boycott in which an individual, who has shared a questionable or controversial opinion, or has had behavior in their past that is perceived to be offensive recorded on social media, is “canceled”; they are ostracized and shunned by former friends, followers and supporters alike, leading to declines in any careers and fanbase the individual may have at any given time. Harper’s Magazine published an open letter on 7th July 2020, signed by 150 public figures, setting out arguments against “an intolerance of opposing views, a vogue for public shaming and ostracism, and the tendency to dissolve complex policy issues in a blinding moral certainty.