CANCEL CULTURE: AN ANALYSIS ISLAMIC COMMUNICATION ON VIRTUAL MEDIA
Description
This article delves into the cancel culture phenomenon as experienced by Tuan Guru Mizan Qudsiyah, a prominent figure from Lombok NTB, on YouTube in 2020. It seeks to understand what cancel culture entails, its repercussions on individuals and groups, its portrayal in Islamic communication, and its specific impact on Tuan Guru Mizan Qudsiyah. Employing qualitative research methods through a case study approach, this study draws data from YouTube and applies Pierre Bourdieu's genetic structuralism theory for analysis. Cancel culture, as revealed in this investigation, manifests as the rejection, cancellation, and boycott of public figures by netizens due to controversial virtual media statements or actions. Individually, it inflicts anxiety, stress, depression, and loss of privacy. At a collective level, it generates social anxiety, deviating from societal norms, and subsequently, constrains freedom of expression. Islamic communication perceives cancel culture as a new parasite within the realm of virtual media, potentially undermining Islamic communication principles like justice, forgiveness, dialogue, deliberation, self-improvement opportunities, compassion, empathy, tenderness, and respecting differences. In the case of Tuan Guru Mizan Qudsiyah, his derogatory remarks about the tombs of Lombok guardians, referring to them as "Dog Feces Grave and Dog Feces Sacred," led to his cancellation by an outraged online mob. Subsequently, his Assunah Islamic boarding school in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, was attacked and set ablaze, underscoring the severe real-world consequences of cancel culture in the digital age.