Beyond Moral Outrage: The Role of the Ingroup in Online Condemnations

Although expressions of condemnation are pervasive on social media and often shape the narratives of traditional news outlets, brands continue to struggle with predicting and managing these responses effectively. To address this challenge, it is crucial to first understand the underlying reasons for such behavior. While existing research argues that moral outrage alone is sufficient to drive online condemnations, we present a more nuanced approach as to when and why this behavior occurs. Across six studies (including Supplementary Appendix A; N = 1285) we argue and find that the perception that there is a like‐minded ingroup to whom one can signal is critical for promulgating online condemnations. Notably, this audience must be perceived to feel similarly outraged as the condemner (studies 1a‐c), and the condemner must be able to signal to this audience through a public post (vs. merely expressing their condemnation privately with no audience; study 2). Engaging in such condemnations predicts subsequent actual consumption choices (study 3), with substantive implications for marketers.