The dynamics of self-scandalization
Pulling users into the feud between Andrew Tate and Greta Thunberg
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12599596 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Anne Jerslev (0000-0003-3635-0910, University of Copenhagen), Nete Nørgaard Kristensen (0000-0002-8782-7179, University of Copenhagen, corresponding author), Manuel Menke (0000-0002-4215-3713, University of Copenhagen) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 1859-1879 |
| Publication date | 2025-04-29 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | European Journal of Cultural Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1367-5494 • E-ISSN: 1460-3551 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/13675494251329722 |
| OpenAlex | W4409974267 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 30 |
This article engages with self-scandalization as a calculated communicative strategy that employs morally transgressive performances on social media to elicit public, often emotion-driven responses to gain attention and fame. To conceptualize the dynamics of self-scandalization, we draw from what Diana Zulli coined ‘socio-mediated scandals’, which are co-constructed by active online users who can become forceful communicative co-drivers of a scandal. Based on netnography, we analyze the feud between influencer Andrew Tate and environmental activist Greta Thunberg on Twitter/X in December 2022. We show how Tate’s strategy of self-scandalization enticed different online communities to (un)willingly amplify and co-construct the scandalous incident. Tate did this not only to provoke with his moral transgressions but also to create an entertaining drama connecting to both popular and Internet culture. Compelling conflict, sensationalism and exaggeration, paired with moral transgressions along politicized trenches, unfold the potential to pull in large and niche communities outside of the self-scandalizer’s usual sphere of influence
Archaeology · Art · Art history · Dynamics (music · Feud · Psychoanalysis · Gender, Feminism, and Media · History · Media Studies and Communication · Psychology · Social Media and Politics
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Public Spheres of Resonance
Selling brands while staying “Authentic”
The Turn to Affect and Emotion in Media Studies
Thunberg’s Way in the Climate Debate
Media and scandal
The Incel Rebellion
Populism, Ontological Insecurity and Gendered Nationalism
Speaking for the youth, speaking for the planet
Persona studies
Platform drama
Seriously funny
The celebritization of society and culture
Ethnography and the digital fields of social media
Populism, Media, and the Form of Society
Socio-Mediated Scandals
Becoming Celebrity Girl Activists
To See and Be Seen
Petty things and nemeses
De-celebrification
Self-branding, 'micro-celebrity' and the rise of Social Media Influencers
From Mediatized Emotion to Digital Affect Cultures
The New Visibility
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |