Back in the '90s and early '00s, the British indie music press was known for

changing its opinions—fast. Guardian and VICE journalist Sam Wolfson recently

called this phenomenon “buttocking,” or “Building Them Up To Knock Them

Down”; magazines like The NME would create buzz around a band on the come-

up, then cut them down the moment they became popular. Take Razorlight,

indie darlings of your dad’s CD collection, whose second album was given an

8/10 by the publication upon its release in 2006, only to be nominated for

“Worst Album” at the NME Awards the following year.

Now that music journalism has moved online, though, an artist doesn’t have to

release a sub-par album to receive a backlash; everything they do is up for

grabs. And whenever something headline-worthy happens, there seems to be

some sort of an unwritten rule that every publication has to declare whether

they’re down with it or over it. In July alone, it felt like this cycle of praise and

outrage reached a peak. When Rihanna released her “Bitch Better Have My

Money” video at the beginning of the month, Refinery29 declared it “Not Safe For

Work, Or Feminists,” but The Guardian hailed it as the “return of the ingenue.”

When Taylor Swift misconstrued a Nicki Minaj tweet about music industry racism as a

personal jibe and responded pretty tastelessly, Flavorwire declared amoratorium on

all pop feminism, while Glamour UK asked, “WHEN will someone make [Swift] PM

[Prime Minister]?” As Minaj herself pointed out, "white media" were quick to pit

her against Swift personally instead of interpreting her wider comments as

being about racism in the industry; the media's lust for a "feud" narrative

quickly turned the issue into one you had to take a side on, using inflammatory

headlines and confrontational images like the one at the top of this piece.

In the midst of Meek Mill and Drake’s feud over the former’s allegation that the

latter uses ghostwriters, Twitter was overrun with people claiming Meek had

committed “career suicide." Even in the context of an accelerated media climate—

where outrage against outrage and backlashes against backlashes are common—it was a

lot to take in. You’d be forgiven for deactivating your Twitter for a while.

But even in a world where everybody’s talking, it can feel like more nuanced

and diverse perspectives about pop culture are passing us by. It’s like a

modern-day iteration of German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-

Numan's spiral of silence—a 1974 communications theory suggesting that people

are more afraid of isolation than anything else, and that’s the main factor that

governs their public voicing of opinions. People who believe their opinions

might be in the minority are way less likely to speak up, and so a monopoly of

opinion takes hold. Ever watched a sexist TV show with a group of men and

decided not to bother voicing how sexist it is? Nobody wants to be the killjoy or

the outcast.

There’s a general belief that the internet has created a more even playing field

for unpopular opinions or marginalized voices. In reality, one studyby the Pew

Research Center in 2014 found that the spiral of silence theory actually applies

even more to online self-expression than off. Of over 1,800 Americans studied,

those who were willing to discuss a political issue IRL were less than half as

likely to want to post about it on social media.

Of over 1,800 Americans studied, those who were willing to discuss a political issue IRL were less than half as likely to want to post about it on social media.

Even in an era where everybody has the opportunity to weigh in, it's still the

voices backed by major media platforms that get amplified the loudest. Still, in

the midst of July’s perfect outrage storm, a peculiar trend stood out: some

columnists have begun to speak from the perspective of the marginalized.

Writing for the New Statesman, Helen Lewis began her criticism of “BBHMM”

with a lament: “Apparently, unlike all other artistic output ever, writers are not

supposed to respond to Rihanna’s video.” Janice Turner at British

newspaper The Times, meanwhile, complainedthat she had been “silenced” when

she attempted to critique the video’s “misogyny.” Piers Morgan wrote a

disgusting Daily Mail column on Nicki Minaj in which he positioned himself as an

underdog, up against the “bile” of “Black Twitter.” While it is likely true that all

of these writers received some online backlash for their opinions, their words

suggest that they are fighting a brutal, bitter battle to speak their minds. In

reality, all write for major publications, and thereby possess a very real sway

over popular opinion. They don’t have to shout to be heard.

Still, even as mass media outlets attempt to out-yell one another with “for” and

“against” arguments, we're surrounded by people standing up on smaller

online soapboxes in order to challenge majority ways of thinking. GHE20G0THIK

founder Venus X responded to the Meek Mill and Drake story by raising

uncomfortable questions about society, tweeting: “This @MeekMill vs @Drake

beef speaks on so many more issues than we might want to accept. Issues of

privilege, access, race, class.” When other tweeters called her “stupid as

fuck,” and accused her of “reaching” and being “fake deep,” she replied: “SAYING

FAKE DEEP IS A WAY FOR PPL WHO CANT EXPLAIN THEIR POPULAR OPINION TO

TRY & SHUT DOWN PPL WHO CAN EXPLAIN THEIR UNPOPULAR OPINION.”

Whether or not you agree with Venus, she’s got her own ideas to back up what

she’s saying; rather than pick a side, she’s attempted to start a wider

conversation on the implications of this headline story. “You sound like you

don’t formulate your own opinions,” she wrote in response to another

commenter; it was such a succinct, perfect put-down that it gave me pause.

How many people, in an age where you can literally see which views are

popular by glancing at what’s trending, can truly say they formulate their own

opinions?

Elsewhere, Mykki Blanco criticized the use of “Hashtag activism” to promote not

fully thought-out opinions or stances. In a series of tweets concerning police

brutality against Native Americans and high suicide rates on reservations,

Blanco called for black activists to also support Native Americans and other

people of color within the purview of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. “If you

opened your eyes theirs not a NATIVELIVESMATTER hastag because those

people are even more silenced than you could ever IMAGINE,” the NYC

rapper wrote. “Thesocial consciousness of this current generation and political

climate is a blessing. But...some of yall wanna BARK without being INFORMED.”

Blanco is right: the potential for social media to drive activism and justice is

huge. In New York magazine’s new cover story, showcasing the narratives of

numerous alleged victims of sexual assault by Bill Cosby, one woman—Tamara

Green—sums that potential up in a line: “It’s 2015, we have social media now.

We can’t be disappeared.” This month, Texas authorities opened a new

investigation into the death of Sandra Bland after more than 31,000 people

tweeted her name. This week, Instagram users simply refused to allo