Question about that study saying cancel culture is mostly a liberal infighting thing

I came across a Pew Research poll from 2021 that said 80% of people who've experienced call-outs were called out by people on their own side politically, and I'm wondering if anyone else has seen data like this or if I'm just misreading the numbers.

2 comments

2 Comments

johnflores21d agoMost Upvoted

Gotta disagree with that framing a bit. The 2021 Pew data is real but I think it misses how a lot of those "own side" call outs come from people pushing hard left agendas against more moderate liberals or centrists who still vote Democratic. It's not like two far left activists are screaming at each other over a minor policy disagreement. Usually it's a loud minority bullying someone who's basically on their team but not radical enough for them. So it's still liberal infighting but more about purity tests than actual ideological splits.

michaelchen21d ago

But doesn't that just mean the "loud minority" is still driving the conversation? Like, take the whole defund the police debate from 2020. You had mainstream Democrats like Biden and Harris explicitly saying they didn't support it, yet a bunch of online activists were calling them sellouts and pushing for it anyway. Even now with the Gaza protests, it feels like the same pattern - normal Dems get shouted down for not going far enough. Idk, maybe I'm wrong but it seems like the purity tests are actually creating a real split, not just a minor one. Are we sure this isn't changing how people vote or who runs for office?