Анализ феномена "культура отмены" как инструмента регулирования общественных отношений

Журнал российского права. 2023. Т. 27. № 3. С. 17–30.

Vinogradov V.

When the law - as a rational part of our existence - “sleeps”, monstrous extra-legal constructions appear, including such as the “cancel culture”. The “cancel culture” distorts the very idea of I egal regulation, attempting to replace the rule of law. It rests on a shaky foundation of unregulated opinion of the crowd, as well as rumors and conjectures, and in this sense is opposed to the law. The “cancel culture” does not appear to be something new or unique in public relations. However, with the advent of the Internet and accelerated digitalization, with the “immersion” of the individual in the digital information field, the “cancel culture” has gained a special scope. Nowadays not only individuals and groups of persons can be “cancelled”, but also the entire states and cultures. This article analyzes the nature of the “cancel culture” phenomenon as a tool for regulating public relations, its mechanism of action and social consequences. The “cancellation” is compared with the “reputational death” of the person subjected to it, and the only effective way to “compensate for damage to reputation” and “reputational resurrection” is seen as the use of legal instruments. One cannot trust the opinion formed as a result of the activities of the “cancel culture”, it should be remembered that it is not only an inefficient mechanism for regulating social relations, but also leads to their degradation and injustice and chaos. The “cancel culture” deprives a person of the opportunity to express his opinion, which is a restriction of freedom of speech. The article draws a number of historical parallels, on the basis of which it is concluded what the fate of the “cancel culture” may be in the future. It can be assumed that the “cancel culture” will eventually receive the same negative legal and social assessment as slavery.

Keywords: клевета, защита чести и достоинства, defamation, cancel culture, культура отмены, slander, streisand effect, extrajudicial justice, эффект стрейзанд, внеправовое правосудие