‘Moral mobs’ on social media look like bullies

MASS shaming on social media has the opposite effect of what is intended, bringing sympathy for the person who has caused offence, research has found.

Although social media allows people to quickly draw attention to racist, sexist, or unpatriotic behaviour, researchers at Stanford University in California have discovered that as the outrage goes viral, the “moral mob” reaction starts to resemble bullying.

After enlisting nearly 3,400 participants, researchers set up a number of scenarios asking people how they felt about the public outcry to offensive or controversial posts online.

In one study, the researchers showed participants a post taken from a real story of a charity worker who posted a photograph of herself making an obscene gesture and pretending to shout next to a sign that read “Silence and Respect” at Arlington National Cemetery.

The study found that when participants saw the post with just a single comment condemning it, they found the reaction applaudable, but not so when it was echoed by others. Benoît Monin, a professor of psychology, said: “There is a balance between sympathy and outrage.

“The outrage goes up and up but at some point sympathy kicks in. Once a comment becomes part of a group, it can appear problematic.

“People start to think, ‘This is too much – that’s enough.’ We see outrage at the outrage.”

The research was published in the journal Psychological Science.