Unraveling a “Cancel Culture” Dynamic: When and Why Americans Sanction Offensive Speech

Abstract

There is a growing belief that many Americans shun, ostracize, or “cancel” those they dislike or who make disagreeable statements. Yet, no empirical work has explored the prevalence or motives of this type of sanctioning or how Americans perceive it. Using a nationally representative survey with an embedded conjoint experiment, we find that Americans vastly overestimate how likely other people—especially out-partisans—are to cancel others. Nevertheless, they accurately perceive what motivates others to cancel: disagreeable and offensive statements, not disliked speakers. Additionally, we find that Democrats and Republicans are similarly motivated to cancel, though canceling behavior out in the world may more commonly come from Democrats. Our findings highlight how “cancel culture” could limit harmful speech, but encourage self-censorship and partisan animus. They also reveal the normative fault lines underlying debates about free speech in contemporary society.

Keywords: cancel culture, misperceptions, free speech, partisanship, partisan animosity