Keywords
misinformation
misinterpretation
Jyllands-Posten
Charlie Hebdo
How to Cite
Abstract
This article challenges the prevailing assumption that the offence and outrage expressed during contemporary cartoon controversies are spontaneous reactions to satirical attacks. Instead, it highlights the central role of misinformation and misleading interpretations in provoking such responses. Drawing on three case studies—the Danish cartoon controversy (2005-2006), the Taubira cartoon controversy in France (2013), and the PEN America controversy concerning Charlie Hebdo (2015)—the article shows how intermediaries circulated misinformation or misleading interpretations that generated outbursts of outrage, offense, anger, and disgust. In order to describe the social affects engendered by distortions, the article introduces the concept of “false affectivity”. Defined as an affect-oriented parallel to the long-standing critical concept of “false consciousness”, this concept provides a framework for critically engaging with social affects that are often either uncritically embraced or summarily dismissed.
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