Introducing digital vigilantism

More Share Options article issue table of contents article Europe and America, political mobilisations have emboldened citizens to monitor and harass individuals based on categories of suspicion, for instance illegal migrants. These mobilisations, in turn, have spawned counter-movements seeking to render perpetrators of hate-speech and harassment visible and accountable. Depending on the cause defended and the political context, governments may even explicitly support citizen groups that publicise and denounce suspected wrongdoing by other citizens. Digital media cultures facilitate the sharing of evidence of offensive acts, but also the shaming of targeted individuals and a broader moralising against criminal or otherwise undesirable populations. Visibility, as manifest through the public and open distribution of a target’s personal details, stands as a central feature of contemporary vigilante campaigns...