Digital Scapegoating

Digital scapegoating machines achieve industrial scale

The period from 2017-2025 witnessed the full industrialization of scapegoating through social media platforms. Research reveals how algorithms designed to maximize engagement systematically amplify divisive content and coordinate mob behavior.¹ The January 6, 2021 Capitol attack represented the most dramatic manifestation of this dynamic, with analysis showing Trump's tweets directly predicted "bursts in rioters' levels and duration of violence." ²

Social media's evolution as "scapegoating machines" has followed predictable patterns.³ Meta's internal analysis revealed that just 137 "super inviters" drove 67% of growth in the largest "Stop the Steal" Facebook groups, demonstrating how concentrated efforts achieve massive amplification.⁴  Academic research identifies this as classic Girardian "mimetic contagion," where imitative behavior spreads virally until it requires a Scapegoat for resolution.⁵

The targeting has been systematic and predictable. Immigrants, particularly during COVID-19, became primary Scapegoats for economic anxieties.⁶ Springfield, Ohio's Haitian community exemplified this when false claims led to 33 bomb threats in six days.⁷ Transgender individuals, representing less than 1% of the population, have faced disproportionate political targeting- following Girard's observation that ideal scapegoats are visible but politically powerless minorities.⁸

Social media platforms' attempts to address their role as "scapegoating machines" have revealed deep structural contradictions. While developing more sophisticated content moderation policies and AI-assisted detection systems, the fundamental business model that monetizes engagement remains unchanged.⁹

Elon Musk's Twitter/X acquisition in October 2022 marked a significant regression. His 75% workforce reduction, including most content moderation teams, led to a documented 500% increase in hate speech within 12 hours.¹⁰ 

Alternative platforms like Truth Social, despite marketing themselves as "free speech havens," have proven even more restrictive in their content moderation. Academic analysis reveals they function as "curated echo chambers of violent views," giving verified status to white nationalists while shadowbanning critical voices.¹¹ The promise of escaping algorithmic manipulation has merely created new forms of it.

Scapegoating dynamics have intensified beyond what most observers anticipated, with digital platforms creating industrial-scale mechanisms for identifying and persecuting victims.¹² The transformation of political discourse into mythological narratives of sacred kings¹³ and sacrificial victims represents a fundamental shift in American democracy.

References:

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34429255/
2. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11538902/
3. https://fastercapital.com/content/Mob-Mentality--Mob-Mentality--The-Dark-Side-of-Herd-Behavior.html
4. https://www.techpolicy.press/the-science-of-social-medias-role-in-january-6/
5. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20563051231179696
6. https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/11/politics/donald-trump-coronavirus-oval-office-speech/index.html
7. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/10/30/trump-maga-blame-immigrants-democrats/
8. https://theconversation.com/the-dirty-politics-of-scapegoating-and-why-victims-are-always-the-harmless-easy-targets-66963
9. https://time.com/5855733/social-media-platforms-claim-moderation-will-reduce-harassment-disinformation-and-conspiracies-it-wont/
10. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/why-is-elon-musks-twitter-takeover-increasing-hate-speech/
11. https://www.citizen.org/news/truth-socials-censorship-terms-of-service-defy-free-speech-promises/
12. https://thenewinquiry.com/the-scapegoating-machine/
13. https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/david-graeber-the-divine-kingship-of-the-shilluk