Identity in Hashtag Culture: a case study of social media

conversation surrounding the Charlie Hebdo attack

Dissertation in Global Citizenship, Identities, and Human Rights

L34568

Student Number: 4238297

Word Count: 15,000

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Acknowledgements

I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to my ever helpful personal tutor and

supervisor Dr. Esther Bott who has patiently laboured with me alongside this project and

without whose strict guidance would not have resulted in a focused piece of research. In

addition, I would like to thank my good friend and fellow academic Ruth Alison Clemens for

the support and encouragement as well as helpful advice and guidance she was able to offer.

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Abstract

This dissertation investigates the contemporary phenomenon of hashtag cataloguing

from within the social media platform of Twitter, paying special attention to the hashtag

phenomenon of #jesuischarlie produced in response to the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks in

Paris in January 2015. This research aims to show the reasons why social media consumers

chose to rally to the cause of the social movement created by the #jesuischarlie hashtag and

use it as a platform to ally themselves to causes such as freedom of expression and solidarity.

The dissertation will demonstrate how an application of social identity theory can interpret

the content produced by the social media consumers belonging to the #jesuischarlie collective

in order to assess their personal and social motivations for identification. This will show a

register of attitudes in response to the news event, demonstrate the utility of social media in

forming a social movement around it, and provide important insights into the way that

identity can be read through the relatively new and emerging field of Internet

communication.

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Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction 5

Chapter 2: Methodology 11

Chapter 3: Theories of Identity 22

Chapter 4: Case Study (data collection and review) 31

Chapter 5: Social Identity Theory Critique 44

Chapter 6: Conclusion 57

Bibliography 64

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Chapter 1: Introduction

“I don't look at Twitter because it doesn't tell me anything” - Noam Chomsky.

In a century from now the hashtag phenomenon, as provided for by online platforms

such as Twitter, may be able to show us the relevance of social movements as they were

happening but it is more difficult to know what is happening at their inception; hence, the

significance of this research lies in the examination of subject matter that explores trends as

they happened. Lindsay (2015) says: “Twitter activism is often fleeting. Even powerful

hashtags are often forgotten, regardless of whether the goal was achieved or not,” and she

questions whether it actually does anything “except make people feel like they are doing

something when they are doing nothing at all.” Twitter has given us a new way to catalogue

responses to real-life events.

The proposed study considers social media consumers’ use of hashtag cataloguing

surrounding the major media event of the recent Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, that being

#jesuischarlie1. Social media’s consumers and their actions towards this campaign, through

1 “ “Je suis Charlie” is a slogan adopted by supporters of freedom of speech and freedom of the press after the 7 January 2015 massacre in which twelve people were killed at the offices of the French satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, France. It identifies a speaker or supporter with those who were killed at the Charlie Hebdo shooting, and by extension, a supporter of freedom of speech and resistance to armed threats” (see Bibliography, “Je Suis Charlie” ).

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the use of hashtags to catalogue information, will be the main focus of this study. Social

media is the site where “consumers … engage in a virtual conversation with other consumers

and producers to satisfy different motivations for consumption and identity” (Reichart Smith

& Smith, 2012, p. 540). The study aims to examine the media event by looking at data from

the virtual conversations surrounding the media event and how it was engaged in and

catalogued by the #jesuischarlie identifier, in this case the actual hashtag, produced by social

media consumers, and attempts to place the discourse within the framework of social identity

theory to yield qualitative interpretation.

During the news event social media is engaged with interactively by its consumers

(Reichart Smith & Smith, 2012). The community that this creates will be examined by the

proposed study. It is possible, using the Internet, to analyse hashtag catalogue data from the

time of the event up until the present moment. A simple search for the #jesuischarlie hashtag

on the social media platform Twitter on the date of the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris and the

day, or days, subsequent to the attack revealed a large data set. The collection of data began

from around the time of the attack which reveals, now retrospectively, attitudes to the events

as they were taking place. Data was also be collected from dates subsequent to the events

under investigation. Identifying the #jesuischarlie hashtag was the starting point for data

collection. This was the established identifier which revealed attitudes to the event

surrounding the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris. As a data sample the #jesuischarlie hashtag

catalogue formed part of a conversation amongst and involving social media consumers

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which revealed data about various types of people and a register of their identity through

their attitudes. The study aims to understand the different participants of the group involved

in the conversation and to ascertain how the hashtags are being used by analysing what types

of content are related to that hashtag.

The #jesuischarlie hashtag is an embodiment of an online community that is self-

defined and as a population of interest can be clearly determined by the research project as a

body that can be studied ethnographically. It is likely that there is interaction between

community members in which the online environment makes accessible through this process

of self-identification with the causes. The nature of the online environment and how the

members of the community communicate with each other will be important in providing an

understanding of the context in which they identify with those causes and their own

projections of identity. Online representations of identity and various different ways of

communicating are central to describing the issues through which the subjects will express

themselves and it was critical to understand this through a period of immersion within those

worlds created by the social media consumers themselves. This study aims to look at how

this experience is shaped by a social media consumer’s social network in the construction of

identity and aims to address the multiple implications specific to social media consumer’s

behaviour of identifying with the causes in question. The study will question whether

increased accessibility to commentary, provided for by social media, leads to increased

identification with the specific cause.

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A sense of social presence and peer-group interaction associated to the news event can

be seen to come out of the virtual conversation in which social media users come together to

facilitate. Hashtags are the identifiers which form part of an index on social media platforms

that are usually associated to a news media event. The hashtag character (#) works as a prefix

to a word which creates a thread of discussion that users can follow. “Using hashtags gives

insight into the meaning of the individual post or some larger context as it relates to a larger

topic” (Reichart Smith and Smith, 2012, p. 544). The use of hashtags are a way of

contextualising certain information content surrounding an internet conversation, through

the use of signifiers or a group of identifiers to form a portmanteau, and are instrumental in

creating internet trends.

The study will question whether the demand for information brings about conditions

whereby identification between social media consumers takes place. It will seek to

understand how the issues such as freedom of expression and solidarity, that provoke specific

types of behaviour, can also produce responses from social media consumers that influence

the way information is distributed and therefore has an impact on how people identify with

those issues. The distribution of information will have to be analyzed in such a way as to

answer how the causes retain support in a positive or negative manner and how they are

continuously engaged in to produce identification. Social media consumers who are like-

minded seek others to produce their commentaries and promote their opinions adding their

commentary using the #jesuischarlie hashtag indentifier, experiencing the event indirectly,

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but participating in a social movement that is characterized by its identification.

The dissertation will be set out as follows. Subsequent to this introduction, which

provides an overview of the overall schema of the research, will be Chapter Two, an

explanation of the methodology by which the research will be carried out. This includes a

detailed account of the methodology of Internet ethnography, a new and emerging field of

studying the behaviour of online participants in social movements and also include an

explanation of how I intend to go about examining the reflexive nature of the content being

produced by the social media consumers. Chapter Three will focus on social identity theory

and its discourses. In this chapter I will conduct a literature review of relevant sources that

discuss the ins-and-outs of social identity theory to build a body of thought that can be used

to critique the content provided by the social media consumers. Chapter Four will focus on

immersion within the worlds created by the hashtag catalogues and look at the data

produced by social media consumers. I have used this chapter as the site where I gather my

data and organise it into themes and produce commentary that is particularly sensitive to the

reflexive nature of the content provided by the social media consumers. Chapter Five will be

a critical analysis of how social identity theory can interpret the data collected from the social

media world created by the #jesuischarlie hashtag catalogue. Following the treatment of data

to thematic analysis and the attempt to break apart its reflexive meaning I will attempt to

apply the theory gathered in the literature review to the social media content to see in what

ways identities are shaped and ascertain the reasons and motivations behind social media

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consumers' identification with causes such as freedom of expression and solidarity. Chapter

Six will present the findings in conclusion to explore the claims of the social media

consumers, explain the resulting culture that gave rise to a pertinent social phenomena, and

explain the implications of the application of social identity theory to social media content.

I hope that this research will provide an important insight into a social movement that

came to bear some historical significance and in using identity theory to interpret the data

yield a meaningful critique that can help contextualise the event. In using the above opening

quote by famous linguist Noam Chomsky I am attempting to demonstrate an awareness of

the situatedness of this research in its temporal context, that is to say, what was once the

vanguard of critical theory are slowly becoming out-dated and being left behind by these new

technologies that are providing new possibilities for the way that we perceive social

movements and how they are being commented upon.

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Chapter 2: Research Methods and Design

In this chapter I aim to introduce my methodology . This chapter shall aim to largely

engage with the work of various academics to ascertain their viewpoints on the subjects that

will inform my study. These are: Internet ethnography - an ethnographic research approach

that is carried out in the online setting; and reflexivity, which will investigate the subjectivity

of the data collected. As you will know from the introduction, this research analyses Twitter

content surrounding the #jesuischarlie hashtag to ascertain why people identify with freedom

of expression and solidarity as well as other key themes.

Analysis to be included will depend on what type of data the study yields and how

that is determined will depend upon a process of immersion but the study will focus mainly

upon narrative text. I am looking to a digital story of representations which will provide

important elements for data analysis but the study will use the narrative text for the purposes

of hermeneutical analysis. Hermeneutical analysis is the deconstruction of text. I will study

the narratives produced by my data set which is the #jesuischarlie Twitter hashtag catalogue.

Social media will be the primary site for the gathering of data whereby the participants will

be observed. Meaning, through individual units or nodes, can be identified and then

analysed and reviewed (Keim-Malpass et. al., 2014). Interpretation and meaning will rely on

the process of analysis of themes looking for similarities and grouping them into categories.

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Cultural and social aspects can then be highlighted which will show how the themes support

findings from the literature on social identity theory. Social identity theory is a field of

literature that can help explain the themes present in the data and will help to critique their

cultural and social aspects.

I have chosen to use an ethnographic method. Ethnography in its traditional form

shares the same epistemological underpinnings as the relatively new and emerging field of

Internet ethnography. “Ethnography focuses on understanding social stories and what is

going on in the field … making sense of social actions from the point of view of the

participants” (Keim-Malpass et. al., 2014, p. 1688). How ethnographies take place has

implications for the collection of data and how that data is conceptualised to produce

qualitative material. This study aims to immerse its observations within what is happening

inside this field, to understand what is socially relevant about it, to learn the patterns

belonging to the various social situations which derive themselves from an environment that

goes beyond “a physical boundary defining place” (Keim-Malpass et. al., 2014, p. 1688).

Hypothetically, perspectives of various different kinds can be accessed in a domain where the

output of information and data is increasing all the time. This type of Internet ethnography

“provides a method by which international sampling and global perspectives can be easily

accessed” (Keim-Malpass et. al., 2014, p. 1688).

Keim-Malpass et. al. (2014) argue that it is important “for ethnographers in virtual

fields to consider how active to be in relation to the participants they are studying” (p. 1688).

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This study aims to take the approach of a “passive analysis that involves understanding how

information and dialogs are exchanged on [social media] without the researchers actually

involving themselves” (Keim-Malpass et. al., 2014, p. 1688). This is relevant to the research

because social media is the primary location of the data which will be analysed to create a

dialogue in the sociological field. Dialogue is related to hermeneutical analysis because of the

nature of the conversation that social media creates. This approach circumvents so-called

direct responses to interview questions revolving around preconceived notions which allows

the subject under investigation to be untampered with and remain in its organic state. Keim-

Malpass et. al. (2014) posit that: “[t]his approach follows the key assumption that

ethnographic methodology should use the entire experience of immersion to learn how life is

lived, rather than coming in with particular a priori assumptions of the issues that are

important to the group being studied” (p. 1688).

It will be important to consider the participants' online identity through the analysis of

this research. As Keim-Malpass et. al. (2014) claim: “[t]he users can choose how they wish to

be represented, rather than allowing traditional demographic and socioeconomic factors such

as race, gender, class, and body type to dictate how they are initially perceived by others,

including researchers” (p. 1690). Whether or not this forms part of a conscious choice by the

user, the initiation of social structures, construction of self and other, forms part of the way in

which communication is mediated by the computer. In the negotiation of identity and the

construction of the personal story, text is central (Barlow et. al., 2009) but it will be important

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to assess to what extent the participant’s identity online is a social construction, their identity

being affected by environmental conditions. Keim-Malpass et. al. (2014) claim that:

“[i]ncorporating the construction of online identity into the ethnographic analysis [becomes]

central in understanding the social and cultural context [which is] … a unique strength to this

methodology” (p. 1690). This is reasserted when they claim that: “[c]reated identities through

an online medium represent an evolving approach to participant observation as a component

of ethnographic research” (Keim-Malpass et. al., 2014, p. 1690).

The #jesuischarlie hashtag is the embodiment of an online community that is self-

defined, and as populations of interest can be clearly determined by the research project as

bodies that can be studied ethnographically. The nature of the online environment and how

the members of the communities communicate with each other will be important in

providing an understanding of the context in which they identify with those causes and their

own projections of identity. Online representations of identity, various different ways of

communicating, are central to describing the issues through which the subjects will be

expressing themselves and it will be critical to understand this through a period of immersion

within those worlds created by the social media consumers themselves. This study aims to

look at how this experience is shaped by a social media consumer’s social network in the

construction of identity. Through the ethnographic process it should be possible to map the

online communities and develop understandings through the period of immersion in these

worlds.

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Access to information and the ways in which communication happens has significantly

changed due to the “comprehensive electronic archive of written material” that the Internet

makes available (Keim-Malpass et. al., 2014, p. 1687). The way in which people express

themselves through such an accessible medium gives them an active voice which allows

ordinary citizens to transform their voice within the virtual community according to their

opinions and viewpoints about current events overall representing a wide range of

information. The most popular media that has emerged online is social networking which:

“grant[s] a voice … through engagement in digital storytelling and socially mediated

connection with others” (Keim-Malpass et. al., 2014, p. 1687). Ethnography lends itself to a

narrative approach that can be flexible in its study of virtual community. “Because of the ease

with which large amounts of archived materials can be accessed and analysed, this source of

data has considerable potential for direct observation” (Keim-Malpass et. al., 2014, p. 1687).

The contexts of ethnographic immersion and hermeneutic interpretation lend themselves to

the use of the Internet in this way.

Reflexivity is crucial to research design in the field of Internet ethnography (Markham,

2003). Cross-cultural situations can have a tendency to skew representation and meaning and

according to St. John Frisoli (2010), researchers have a moral obligation to include in their

methodology a review and analysis of reflexive content during online social research. Any

narrative analysis is likely to be influenced by the way reflexivity is expressed in the process;

that is to say that certain worldviews have an impact on the research, so the method needs to

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be sensitive to this awareness (St. John Frisoli, 2010). According to St. John Frisoli (2010),

beliefs, values, and assumptions need to be monitored in order to “put … views about culture

into question, in order to demonstrate overlooked cultural assumptions that [impact] the

design of [the] study” (p. 394). The nature of the material under inspection, that is the content

associated with the specific hashtag, in the wider sense of their amalgamation as part of a

wider conversation, are therefore types of dialogic conversations that are principally

collaborative and cooperative, not least of all because they are grouped together by the

signifiers represented as a hashtag catalogue. This makes the users that are producing the

content material what St. John Frisoli (2010) calls “both researchers and participants in this

study” (p. 394).

According to St. John Frisoli (2010), legitimate knowledge can be generated rigorously

by the methodology behind Internet ethnography. From within the Internet environment, we

have to recognise “the multiple cultures produced within” (p. 395) to realise a practical

method that recognises and addresses multiple levels of ethics. How can a story, produced

by “millions of … online members [who] meet and exchange text and images, and participate

in new cultural domains every day,” (St. John Frisoli, 2010, p. 396) be interpreted taking into

account the values and beliefs of the Twitter users through the process of analysis as they

project their identity into the narrative? According to St. John Frisoli (2010), this question

may be best answered by addressing the issue of “how to go about designing an online small-

scale study while staying true to the ‘researcher learning in the process’ and ‘researcher as

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moral practitioner’ concepts” (p. 396). Discourse surrounding qualitative inquiry is becoming

more mainstream because of Internet studies such as the one I am proposing which means

that online social research has to be ethical if it is to be considered part of the current debate

(St. John Frisoli, 2010). In light of this truth, Bechkoff et al. (2009) believe that “ethnographers

must incorporate the Internet and CMC [Computer Mediated Communication] into their

research to adequately understand social life in contemporary society” (p. 53).

Since the analysis will be qualitative, meaning-making will have to be authenticated by

what is implied by the data and what is present within the sole textual nature of it. Group

participants’ contributions may have been produced in a disinhibited fashion since CMC

results in things such as intonation, facial expression, social status, race, age, gender, and

other social context cues, as having been removed due to the nature of the data being text-

based online messages (St. John Frisoli, 2010). Nevertheless, what the data within the data set

should share should be characteristics of collaborative, conversational, and even dialogic

features.

“The online qualitative researcher is not an objective, politically neutral observer who

stands outside and above the study of these media processes and the circuits of

culture. Rather, the online researcher is historically and locally situated within the

very processes being studied.” - Denzin, 2004, p. 5.

The above quote is very apt when considering this methodology. In Chapter 4, where I

will be assembling the case study, the process of collecting and reviewing the data can then be

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accompanied by reviewing the reflexive aspects of the content. The method will then lend

itself to becoming more objective during the case study where the main discussion there will

be how others perceive the meaning within the textual data vis-à-vis what is being said about

the identity of the social media consumers themselves as opposed to the subtext itself. So, in

treating the subject matter this way it will be possible to tease out the theory of the identity of

the social media consumers based on what they are saying but this will be juxtaposed with

the particular nature of the reflexive realities pertaining to each Twitter participant in the

#jesuischarile collective which will also influence the interpretation. St. John Frisoli (2010)

argues that “[t]he importance of reflexivity … demonstrates the complex nature of

interpreting actions, thoughts, and text in online [research]” (p. 401). It is accounted for that

through this study of those who are participants some reading and therefore understanding

of contemporary culture will be provided and given. Markham (2004a) says that “Internet-

based technologies provide a means for reinscribing, reconfiguring, or otherwise redefining

identity, body, and self’s connection with the other” (p. 99), whilst taking into account that

“texts construct the essence and meaning of the participant, as perceived and responded to by

others” (Markham, 2004b, p. 153).

Since information is shared willingly by the online users this yields a relatively

uncontroversial method of information gathering (Buchanan, 2004). It will be interesting to

see how the online forum presents the preferences of its users and how it raises questions

about their identity. This research relies solely upon the online contribution of information by

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the web users and requires a mechanism of data gathering that applies the following method.

The research participants contribute the relevant information to web platforms such as

Twitter. This information will then be selected and gathered to be analysed. Selection of

information will depend on its relevance to the specific hashtag and uniqueness of content

associated to that hashtag. This process circumvents any need to obtain results since the

social experiment has already taken place throughout social media conversation surrounding

the news media event. That is to say, that the results are already available. What needs to

occur at this stage is to review the data and collect it all together through a process of

selection of pertinent databites and put them into the framework of a case study with

commentary. This produces a method of logging the information, or creating a log of

information, that is already available in the public domain. Buchanan (2004) explains that:

“[a]n increasing number of scholars are conducting research on phenomena referred to as

Internet culture” (p. 46). Virtual ethnography, online ethnography, or in this terminology,

Internet ethnography, both addresses the issues of Internet culture and in this case a pertinent

social phenomena and will help to bring about an understanding of “[t]he Internet

communities that have evolved as cultures [that encourage] the use of [the] ethnographic

method” (Buchanan, 2004, p. 46). According to Buchanan (2004), the terms participant

observation can be used interchangeably with ethnography “which often involves a

combination of a variety of methods” (Buchanan, 2004, p. 46). I will be using the online

environments created by the social media platforms to observe what happens, what has

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happened, and what is happening. I will be looking to identify what Buchanan (2004) calls

“value systems” which will aid in the next stage of the methodology whereby I will be able to

use the knowledge set forth in the literature review on social identity theory to help bring

about an analysis of these value systems and then question why the social media users felt so

impassioned to align themselves with their chosen causes.

According to Hammersley (2006), one methodological shortcoming of Internet

ethnography is that it “does not form part of a clear and systematic taxonomy” (p. 3).

Fundamental patterns of change and cyclical variability are not recognised by Internet

ethnography and generalisations and problems of sampling could occur (Hammersley, 2006).

Concerning reflexivity, the writer’s self-presence in the text is directly connected to the

presence of the other; self-presentation becomes representation. So, “the ‘problem’ arises

through the recognition that as social researchers we are integral to the social world we

study” (Doucet & Mauthner, 2003, p. 416). So, it may be questionable as to how

‘authoritative’ our claims relating to subjectivity may be. However, I am largely concerned

with telling an “infinite number of possible stories” (Doucet & Mauthner, 2003, p. 423)

wherein the notion of subjectivity can reconcile tensions and contribute to the validity of

knowledge.

According to this methodology it will be useful to question the social media

environment. Herring and Honeycutt (2009) describe the Twitter environment as “a �noisy�

environment and an interface that is not especially conducive to conversational use, [within

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which] short, dyadic exchanges occur relatively often, along with some longer conversations

with multiple participants that are surprisingly coherent” (p. 1). They state that collaboration

and communication are subject to Twitter’s “controlled environment” (p. 9) which is

customized by each individual. They state that this makes for a personal and closed network

which creates an environment that is educational, task-focused, collaborative, and conducive

to recreational communication.

According to Barbosa and Feng (2010), subjectivity is a distinguishing feature of the

content of a Tweet. They claim that it is the positive, neutral, or negative sentiment that

represents this. That is to say, the expressions used within the content of the Tweet will be

weighted with a certain kind of emotion of opinion and this is what makes it personal to the

author.

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Chapter 3: Theories of Identity.

In this chapter I aim to present a wide ranging set of findings from theories

surrounding identity presented as a literature review. This chapter forms the basis of the

theory that I will be using to critique my data set, that are the Tweets from the #jesuischarlie

hashtag catalogue on the Twitter database. Using concepts from the well-known social

identity theory I aim to build up a cogent set of theoretical assumptions that will be useful in

bringing about a qualitative analysis of my data set. I will be using this chapter to analyse

various different viewpoints from the field of theory which will provide the necessary

groundwork for what will inform this study.

Social motivations for consumption of information inside social media extend to group

affiliation and companionship (Reichart Smith & Smith, 2012). An important aspect to

ascertain is between whom is the conversation taking place? Interaction opportunities are

extended beyond geographical boundaries and interactivity and immediacy, provided for by

social media, allows for the conversation to extend beyond the average user’s typical social

circles (Reichart Smith & Smith, 2012). Identification with freedom of speech or solidarity can

be conceptualized by theories of identity to produce the themes that will emerge from this

study. Hypothetically, behavioural aspects of users brought about through analysis of content

should help certain themes to emerge. For example, identification with freedom of speech

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can be examined and linked to themes displayed by social media behaviour.

Identity is a central characteristic of social media consumption. Our place in the social

world and how we make sense of it leads to the way in which we categorise ourselves and

others, and how we classify ourselves as individuals. This process of categorization and

classification is a central theme to social identity theory. Group identification is tied closely to

“[b]ehaviours motivated by in-group and out-group bias” (Reichart Smith & Smith, 2012, p.

539). In the case of in-group bias, social media consumers identify with members belonging

to the same group. Discourse surrounding events constructs the formation of identities.

Social identity and identification with groups have cognitive and behavioural effects (Turner,

1982).

According to Tajfel (1978), from out of group membership, with their attachments to

values and the significance of emotions particular to group membership, arises a self-

perception of individuality which is tied to social identity. Group membership and belonging

come from an experience of oneness with the group through which the individual can

identify. Social groups and their various members establish biases, whether in-group or out-

group, which motivate individuals and their social identity. The behaviour of a social media

consumer can display both in-group or out-group bias in the formation of their social identity.

Social media consumers, globally, identify highly with particular causes. Group members

see their cause as “an extension of themselves” (Reichart Smith & Smith, 2012, p. 542). The

group and the extent to which an individual feels a psychological connection is the level of

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their social identification with that group. Group membership and its identification is

sustained by the social media consumer and how they identify with the cause.

With the news event incorporating the actions of social media consumers through their

use of hashtag cataloguing it is possible to observe individual consumption as a type of

commodification of identity. Consumption is influenced by social interaction and identity

comes from group members who are directly involved in acts of consumption surrounding

these events. To paraphrase Wenner (1989), the technological advances of social media have

led to a growth in consumption of various types of news. The communication process

enabled by social media allows for active participation by consumers in a two-way

communication model (Schultz & Sheffer, 2008). Hashtags create a catalogue of information

that yields vast amounts of diverse data relating to the event it portrays and audience

participation overlaps into audience interaction. To quote Reichart Smith and Smith (2012)

“the current communication model changes the definition of what it means to be a

consumer” (p. 541).

The social psychology of identity depends upon what categories and what groups

people belong to. Members acquire meaning from, and are directed by, the group, “while

categories are externally defined without any necessary recognition by their members”

(Jenkins, 2008, p. 112). There is an implicit and weak distinction between categories and

groups. Members make reference to a concrete point that exists within a group whereas

identity as a classification is defined collectively by a category. Human group relationships fit

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into a model of differentiation to reconcile cohesion. Collective identifications, often

stereotypical, is the internalisation of social identity. Self-evaluation permits social identity

and is conferred upon individuals who derive meaning from group membership. Who one is

has an attached behaviour which is appropriated by shared representation. The inequalities

of resources and power organise and categorically structure society (Jenkins, 2008).

Individual behaviour produces and influences the social structure in which groups make

reference to meaning. Inter-group processes emphasise how groups are formed from

categories. Self-evaluation, whether positive or negative, is produced by social comparisons

which is in turn produced by a social identity generated by social categorisation. Individual

behaviour and social categories are mediated by universal processes such as the search for

positive self-esteem, comparison and evaluation, and cognitive simplification. What this

means is that group members and their collectivities generate stereotypes produced by a

complex world of information overload which requires cognitive simplification to manage it

(Jenkins, 2008).

In the context of interaction, the immediacy of information that is socially relevant is

constructed from active social categories which carry the attributes of: behaviours; attitudes;

or beliefs. These define subjective representation as what is known as in the field of theory as

‘prototypes’. Prototypes represent the cognitive aspects of social groups (Hogg et. al., 1995).

Prototypes are shared, that is, they are similar, when they share the same perspectives due to

being exposed to similar information, meaning that the social field that they are placed in

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defines their group membership. Prototypes: “capture the context-dependent features of

group membership, often in the form of representations of exemplary members … actual

group members who embody the group” (Hogg et. al., 1995, p. 261). Differences and

similarities among peoples can be explained by what is most readily available as a cognitive

categorisation through whatever is engaged in by a specific context to maximise meaning.

That is to say that social contexts can acquire meaning through categorisation.

Belonging, as a social category, motivates the sense of identity that people derive from

social movements (Burke & Stets, 2000). Each group members’ “self-concept is unique”

(Burke & Stets, 2000, p. 225) which makes up their social identity based on social categories to

which each has a unique combination according to their group membership. The groups to

which members of #jesuischarlie belong form worlds that are classified and named and

depend upon these categorizations “relevant to the formation of … identity” (Burke & Stets,

2000, p. 225). Each group member has a defined role by occupying a certain position which

brings a sense of recognition to themselves as well as one another to form the social structure

in which context those persons are acting. The name of the social movement I discuss

“invokes meanings in the form of expectations with regard to others' and one's own

behaviors” (Burke & Stets, 2000, p. 225). The performance of the role is associated with

expectations and meanings of self incorporated into the role and its occupancy as the self is

categorized by its identity. “These expectations and meanings form a set of standards that

guide behavior” (Burke & Stets, 2000, p. 225). The role of each member within the group

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shapes identity in terms of self-categorization and from the reflexive activity of each member

emerges self-views composing those identities. The societal-like structure of the

#jesuischarlie group imparts meaning in terms of how individuals view themselves.

The responsibility of the role extends to what extent the control of the environment can

be manipulated and how partnership of roles can negotiate interaction and coordination.

Roles are accompanied by actions and perceptions of difference in which resides role

identity. The performance of roles “may be categorized along cognitive, attitudinal, and

behavioral lines” (Burke & Stets, 2000, p. 226). The cognitive outcome is primarily social

stereotyping; group members make evaluations that are positive in uniform attitudinally and

identification within the group leads to concerted behaviour. “[I]ndividuals who use the

group label to describe themselves are more likely … to participate in the group's culture, to

distinguish themselves … and to show attraction to the group in their behavior” (Burke &

Stets, 2000, p. 226). Interaction with others according to a role implies that a person’s

behaviour according to that particular role’s occupation has a meaning that is individual.

This “includes the negotiation of meanings for situations and identities, and how they fit

together to provide a situated context for interaction” (Burke & Stets, 2000, p. 226). The role

within the group is accompanied by expectations and self-meanings adopted by the

individual which brings about their sense of identity. “The meanings and expectations vary

across persons in the set of roles activated in a situation” (Burke & Stets, 2000, p. 226).

The result of group formation comes from mutually reinforced perceptions, the same

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perceptions by which are held by actors in a category. The performance of a role involves

negotiation and interaction to shape identity. “Different perspectives are involved among the

persons in the group as they negotiate and perform their respective roles” (Burke & Stets,

2000, p. 227). Interconnected uniqueness is the expression of a role-based identity as opposed

to a “uniformity of perceptions and behaviors that accompanies a group-based identity”

(Burke & Stets, 2000, p. 227). The context of the interaction between the group with its roles

will show an interrelatedness and individuality of a multiplicity of differences.

Hypothetically, the social structure that this creates will show a complex interrelatedness

maintained by role identities, the role and its associated expectations and meanings and how

these are maintained. When looking at the data I will analyse the social output of

“interrelated individuals, each of whom performs unique but integrated activities, sees things

from his or her own perspective, and negotiates the terms of interaction” (Burke & Stets, 2000,

p. 228). Social identities formed within the group organically tie people together: “they are

tied mechanically through their role identities within groups” (Burke & Stets, 2000, p. 228).

Behaviour, affect, and perceptions are influential and relevant to social identities. A

member of a group enacts a certain role which can be observable as a social category. The

social identity is linked to the personal identity. Burke and Stets (2000) say that “some

features of social identities are consensually based and will be expressed along normative

lines, whereas other aspects may be based on personal feelings and values and will be

expressed along those lines” (p. 228 - 229). Social identities and their normative

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characteristics are added to by idiosyncratic characteristics.

According to Hetts and Pelham (1999), “[t]he self-concept is an inherently social

construction” (p. 115). That is to say that identifications and interactions with other people

produce a concept of the self. They explain that the self is either changed or maintained by

interpersonal relationships and social identifications. They state that people’s identity is

regulated and developed by the aspects of the desire for coherence and the desire for positive

regard. Self- and group-regard can either be implicit, i.e. nonconscious and associationistic,

or explicit, i.e. conscious and carefully considered. Identities that are collective and shared

are social whereas identities which are individual and private are personal (Hetts & Pelham,

1999). Overall feelings of self-worth maximise group allegiances and aspects of personal

identity help to orchestrate attributional biases that serve the group.

According to Brown (2006), what is enduring, distinctive, and central to the identity of

a group contributes to its narrative. It is these characteristics that give a group their

legitimacy as well as their culture, reputation, and image. The dynamic network of narrative

that makes up the hashtag catalogue forms part of a group narrative that contextualises their

identity. Brown (2006) expounds: “Narratology, understood here to refer to ‘the theory and

systematic study of narrative’ leads to an understanding of collective identities as multi-

voiced, quasi-fictional, plurivocal and reflexive constructions that unfold over time and are

embedded in broader discursive [cultural] practices,” (Brown, 2006, p. 732). He explains that

a certain puissance is suffused into a perpetual state of becoming created by story-fragments

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which make up the overall complexity of the narrative identity of the group. Through the

identification with their espoused causes the collective identity is made sense of by the

authorship of “identity-relevant narratives” (Brown, 2006, p. 734). Things such as romance,

irony, and tragedy are literary forms of narrative that bring about normative identities. For

example, members of the #jesuischarlie group may identify romantically with the idea of

liberty concerning freedom of expression, or irony concerning the cartoon depictions of the

Prophet Muhammad, and especially tragedy concerning the killing of innocent journalists.

Brown (2006) says that participants author narratives that are identity-relevant to their

collectivity making up a totality which constitutes their group membership.

According to Choi et. al. (2008), group membership participation can be explained by

the underlying motivation that freedom of expression implies. They posit that community

commitment, linked to group identification, is enhanced when “favourable feelings toward

the community” (p. 415) are brought about by the influence of diverse opinions, the members’

rights to express them, and “the extent to which the community facilitates” (Choi et. al., 2008,

p. 415) freedom of expression. They continue: “[a]s the online community member’s

perception of freedom of expression increases, commitment to the community increases”

(Choi et. al., 2008 p. 415). Freedom of expression contributes to group participation through

the recognition of community value and how the members’ support each other’s

communication.

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Chapter 4: Case Study (data collection and review)

This chapter forms the main part of the cultural and sociological critique of this

dissertation. This is where I present my data findings and organise the Twitter content into

themes for analysis. In this chapter, I shall address the nature of the reflexive content of the

#jesuischarlie hashtag catalogue and use discourse analysis to critique the Twitter

environment from which the data has been gleaned. I shall attempt to break apart the content

provided by the #jesuischarlie hashtag catalogue by using the work of notable theorists such

as Nixon (2001), Ahva (2012), Murthy (2013), O'Connor (1997), Adkins (2003), Fish (1994),

Kjeldgaard (2009), St. John Frisoli (2010), Jacobs & Smith (1997), Rathnayake and Suthers

(2016), Heilig (2015), Farmanfarmaian & Nanabhay (2011), Khouri (2015), Gibbs & Halpern

(2013), Greenbank (2003), Bakó (2014), Landorf (2014), and Shadid & van Koningsveld (1996)

because they all provide critical interpretations of the reflexive nature of the content of the

Tweets.

The emergence of themes that are prominent is the best way to examine the hashtags

over the course of the data collection. Hypothetically, some fragmented, some disjointed, and

some continuous multiple streams of discourse will be identified (Reichart Smith & Smith,

2012). I have identified four key themes according to the data acquired from Twitter. These

are: 1) freedom of expression - opinions reacting to the tragedy that advocate and encourage

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this; 2) solidarity - opinions that evoke sympathy for the victims and encourage solidarity

with the people of Paris; and 3) Islam - reactions to the tragedy that has provoked opinions

about Islam as a potential cause of the terrorist act. I have grouped the data into sub-

headings for ease of analysis and will present some thoughts on the themes subsequent to the

analysis.

Freedom of Expression

Freedom of expression appears to be at the crux of what typifies this tragedy. The

event and subsequent reaction became a rally to its cause. What was evident was that Twitter

users were quick to advocate for this cause as can be seen by the statement from the following

Twitter user: “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, their own speech, their own religion,

and their own life” (Alicia, 2015)2. This statement resonates with what Nixon (2001) calls

engaged citizenship. Alicia expresses her engaged citizenship intellectually to emphasise the

survival of liberty as a necessary condition of the requirements of her own conception of what

it means to express freedom of speech. According to Nixon (2001) she is attesting to a

“responsibility towards ‘the polis’” (p. 174) by showing a moral purposefulness through her

participation in an intellectual engagement whereby she elaborates upon her justification for

2 See Bibliography under Twitter author name as Italicized , with Twitter handle placed in parentheses [@ … ] followed by the date and all other relevant Bibliographic information. If the Twitter author has indicated a surname and forename it will be listed in the Bibliography under the surname followed by their forename initial and the date.

32

freedom of speech.

This moral currency of engaged citizenship relies on a democracy that has a free press

and the role of journalism keeps it accountable. The following Twitter user emphasises this

point: “There is no democracy without journalism… Silence is the end of freedom” (Mac,

2015). Ahva (2012) explains that by invoking democracy as a public opinion power structures

are brought into question. By bringing into disrepute certain political assumptions this

makes a Twitter user like Mac an advocate for a journalism of conviction. Mac asserts that

journalism in its public dimension is connected exclusively to the profession of an ethical

code. In doing this she uses public discussion to cite journalistic processes as a form of what

Ahva (2012) calls “citizen involvement” (p. 2) in her advocacy of democratic values and

emphasises the importance of journalistic ideals.

The rally cry of freedom of expression bred a consciousness of activism, which,

however, did not escape being brought into question: “What does Twitter activism

accomplish?” (Leblanc, 2015). According to Murthy (2013), because Twitter is public, socially

networked, globalised, multiplex, and instantaneous it is the ideal site for the preferred mode

of communication of online activism. “In this way, Twitter as a medium is “revolutionary””

(Murthy, 2013, p. 100). In terms of social activism, Tweets “[cross] many networks in the

process” (Murthy, 2013, p. 12), travel far and wide, become important to other users, and

ultimately change perceptions. This shows that the events sparked a movement that really

did, to its participants, appear revolutionary, and what is noticeable is that, because of the

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contemporary means of technology they were able to see their activism take shape in the form

of a myriad of different opinions and viewpoints.

These opinions and viewpoints continued a broader conversation that the Charlie

Hebdo cartoon initiated and, despite the violence, flourished because people were given the

means to express them: “#FreedomOfSpeech [sic] is something that can’t be silenced because

of the senseless violence of the few” (Marian, 2015). This theme of taking a stance against

violence forms part of the autobiographical discourse that the collection of Tweets make

account for. Marian uses a reflexive analysis that confirms her personal agency within a

narrative setting (O’Connor, 1997). This autobiographical discourse produced a spontaneity

of determined and self-aware reflections that not only expressed individual feelings but

produced a narrative that epitomised the feelings of a group.

This autobiographical characteristic and the reflexive nature of the content of the

Tweets was the hallmark of each participant’s individuality. This notion of individuality and

freedom of expression proved to be related to each other: “Freedom - The express dignity that

is permitted and given therefore as a right to allow expression of individuality” (Razz, 2015).

According to Adkins (2003), expectations, such as Razz’s appeal for liberty, norms such as the

right to express individuality, and social arrangements, that is, a society that allows these

things, appear to prevail so that critical reflection through self-reflexive statements such as the

one made by Razz provides conditions through which freedom can be better understood.

This is a process in which Razz asserts their own agency to imply that without freedom a

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person’s power as a social actor is decreased. Adkins (2003) writes: “agency … is understood

… to provide the conditions for the emergence of reflexivity” (p. 22). To possess agency is to

possess freedom to assert it. Information and communication structures are replacing

receding social structures due to knowledgeable agency which creates structural conditions

for freedom to be expressed and/or experienced (Beck et. al., 1994). This suggests that the

experience and expression of freedom is only made possible because of social conditions

which allow a person to have agency. What emerges from these statements is the role that

agency plays in not only expressing an opinion but in rallying to the cause. Each user’s sense

of agency reinforces their sense of individuality.

Whilst agency seemed to be a proponent to champion freedom of speech, one Twitter

user highlighted an aspect of this that lies at the crux of what brought about the violent

reaction: “Freedom of speech, including the freedom to offend, ought to be one of our most

cherished values” (Schellhase, 2015). A free press will inevitably necessitate an infraction,

however, an intellectually engaged citizenship ensures the survival of liberty and is a

necessary condition required by a just society (Nixon, 2001). However, is freedom of speech

“just the name we give to verbal behaviour that serves the substantive agendas we wish to

advance” (Fish, 1994, p. 102)? This highlights the need to be attentive to what are considered

to be norms in society, such as freedom of speech, which are held to be an intrinsic value of

liberty, but which at the same time are balanced against the question of what right we have to

cause offense. It is evident that there is truth to Fish’s (1994) statement that there are agendas

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we wish to advance by using freedom of speech as our vehicle to do this. Because notions

such as liberty are so laden with moral significance they come attached with agendas

advanced by their proponents. Whatever the subtext, what is evident is that censorship is

eschewed in favour of creating a discourse that sets agendas and gives birth to debate.

This theme of censorship as a central issue is evident in even the most naive of

responses: “An artist must express self. Umay [you may] cringe at whats [sic] expressed but

as an artist, to not express myself, is to be erased” (crazycatkid, 2015). crazycatkid’s identity

gains coherence from a particular set of values which she uses to express her symbolic affinity

to freedom of expression (Kjeldgaard, 2009). In the Twitter environment, expression is

symbolic of freedom and is facilitated by a landscape of fragmented communication.

crazycatkid’s statement is exemplary of how “[s]pectacular youth cultures have been

conceptualized as [an expression] of [the struggle] for authenticity at [the] collective [level]”

(Kjeldgaard, 2009, p. 73). Youth seems to be central to the sentiments of rallying to the

#jesuischarlie cause; crazycatkid’s idiomatic use of newspeak grammar shows a youthfulness

to their writing and the manner in which they speak is indicative of youthful passions.

According to Kjeldgaard (2009), this represents “an authenticity that acts as resistance to a

dominant order” (p. 73). This shows that in the Internet environment multiple cultures are

produced (St. John Frisoli, 2010). Throughout these multiple cultures produced it is evident

that freedom of expression was not only advocated as a reaction to the injustice but also

served as a platform for a diversity of opinion.

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Solidarity

Naturally, an event such as this would induce sympathy from those it affected. Many

Twitter users were quick to vocalise their support for those affected and the over-riding

message of solidarity also brought about a condemnation of the divisiveness of terrorism: “I

stand with the people of France for freedom and against global terrorism” (Marilyn, 2015).

Marilyn presents a narrative that contains a moral intent as she constructs an identity based

around the theme of epousing solidarity (Jacobs & Smith, 1997). Her underlying assertion is

that solidarity must be maintained by culture. Jacobs and Smith (1997) state that “solidarity,

which allows members in a group or community to feel a common identity and to mobilize

together in action, is a necessary prerequisite for the formation of a polity that goes beyond

calculative alliances on the basis of interests” (p. 61). This suggests that “solidarity is in many

ways the product of cultural processes” (Jacobs & Smith, 1997, p. 65). This Twitter user’s

personal espousal of solidarity is generated by her connection to a collective conscience which

suggests that morality is linked to narratives of identity.

If solidarity can be considered to be borne out of a collective conscience it is

consequential that it would create a narrative that unites people, as can be seen from the

sentiments of the following Twitter user: “#JeSuisCharlie is the most tweeted hashtag in

Twitter history. That’s global solidarity in practice right there” (Scott, 2015). According to

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Rathnayake and Suthers (2016)3, hashtags form part of a networked response collective that

are issue-based in nature. Here, Twitter user Scott’s appeal for solidarity is meant to deflect

blame from Muslims and incite tolerance. “Solidarity on social media has been subject to [an]

academic inquiry [that concerns] direct political action” (Rathnayake & Suthers, 2016, p. 1).

In messages and statements such as these national boundaries are transcended by Twitter

actors so that emotional support can be extended. However, Rathnayake and Suthers (2016)

argue that “the expression of solidarity is limited to [the] community/cluster” (p. 8). That is

to say, that although the call for solidarity has the potential to transcend borders, because of

the medium it is unlikely to have any influence outside of the cluster. Rathnayake and

Suthers (2016) argue that rather than seeing the #jesuischarlie cluster as some sort of global

family it is more useful to think of it in terms of a locally engaged community that is globally

connected.

This global connection of a locally engaged community fostered opinions of sympathy

that expressed a worldview that is informed by a news media that makes conflict readily

accessible to social media consumers, such as the following Twitter user: “I’ll never

understand fights and wars. My heart is anyway someplace. Innocent people don’t deserve

to die” (Klein, 2015). According to Heilig (2015), statements can occupy a space where public

argument can function politically within a civic space such as the one created by the

#jesuischarlie community. Despite the content of Klein’s Tweet being more subjective than

3 This research source comes from a conference paper that is to be delivered at The ResearchGate conference at the future date of January 2016.

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say political it is an example of what Heilig (2015) calls “performative writing” (p. 5).

Performative writing is encapsulated by any form of “public argumentation and writing for

social action within the realms of virtual communities” (Heilig, 2015, p. 9). Forming part of

the discussion at large, it can be notably drawn from Heilig’s (2015) theory that Klein’s

contribution can be classed as a participatory activity that forms part of a performative

process. According to Heilig (2015), performative writing such as Klein’s establishes a

foundation to be critical and articulate oneself. Heilig (2015) claims that one manifestation of

performative contributions is the emergence of a “social exigency” (p. 28) which means that

Klein is identifying a need for sympathy from those he addresses.

Because Twitter users were given the opportunity to express themselves

performatively in this way it created that civic space where the potential for political action

was seen as realisable, as is notable from the following contribution: “It is important what is

happening right now and the movement that has formed. Revolution[,] my mouth”

(Goulamoque, 2015). Protest became an international community through the participation in

the #jesuischarlie phenomenon and became continuous throughout social media networking

which appeared to transform discourse into a spectacle of dissent (Farmanfarmaian &

Nanabhay, 2011). One school of thought argues that the “medium is the movement” (Roberts,

2009, p. 6) whereas the other school of thought is that simply “the message is the message”

(Castells, 2009, Location 7653). What Farmanfarmaian and Nanabhay (2011) call spectacular

networks such as Twitter create reflexive international communities of protest whereby social

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media becomes the vehicle to potentially transform movement into revolution. Social media

captures a stream of communication from a large group and organises it into a coherent,

overall, networked spectacular message.

It is possible to view the message of social media as conveying protest in such a way

that this spectacular message appears to its participants as revolutionary: “The transcending

power of a hashtag: we can become activists and peaceful revolutionists thru [sic] social

media” (Khouri, 2015). The #jesuischarlie hashtag phenomenon proved that people can be

brought together to form a social movement underneath what Khouri describes as the

transcending power of a hashtag. Social media activism forms part of a positive expression of

peaceful dissent and activism that has revolutionary potential. What is evident is that people

are brought together by a common cause, sharing similar opinions, and having them

confirmed by each other. On this subject, Gibbs and Halpern (2013) explain: “researchers

have questioned whether the form of discourse fostered by computer-mediated discussions

captures the benefits of the face-to-face ideal, rejecting the hypothesis that online deliberation

expands the informal zone of the public sphere” (p. 1160). This would suggest a type of

confirmation bias that comes from environmental factors where the author is surrounded by

view-points that conform to their own worldview.

Whether or not computer-mediated communication negates the face-to-face ideal,

what is evident from this category is that the imagination of the public sphere was still

captivated by producing sympathetic messages invoking support: “Stand strong Paris and

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continue to embrace the values that make you so incredible” (El, 2015). This Twitter user’s

sympathy to the people of Paris is linked to his profession of the values that we, as Western

people, have inherited. According to Greenbank (2003), “values relate to preferred modes of

conduct” (p. 791). So, it is possible to say that social media behaviour depends on a person’s

attitudes, which influence their social values, i.e. those which represent “how they wish

society to operate” (Greenbank, 2003, p. 791). According to Greenbank (2003), values are

prioritised when individuals are forced into conflict. In light of this, El’s own personal values

have therefore been “prioritised” by the threat that terrorism has brought about.

Islam

It should come as no surprise that this event would not bring about a backlash against

Islam as being seen as a root cause of the terror. The following Tweet shows how opinions

can be polarised to produce a sense of divisiveness: “And still we let them build their

mosques on our town and city’s[,] spreading hatred on our doorsteps” (Weller, 2015).

According to Bakó (2014), people can assume roles through their reflexive behaviour that

claim to be a moral critique on behalf of their shared culture. This is called discursive

exclusion and typifies Weller’s social media behaviour. Weller’s communication style comes

across as aggressive and dominant and from this perspective he invites risk into his dialogue

but because of the relative anonymity of online communication he is able to use the sentiment

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of risk without much fear of reprisal. This relative anonymity typifies what Bakó (2014)

means when she says that these types of “platforms enable affordable spaces for unrestricted

online dialogue” (p. 304). Because Weller’s statement has the characteristics of a “self-

centredness, driven by desperation” (Bakó, 2014, p. 305) it represents what Bakó (2014) calls a

“civic narcissism” (p. 305).

The above example of a narcissistic, self-centred moral critique that attempts to make a

stand on behalf of an entire culture was, thankfully, not entirely characteristic of the

#jesuischarlie collective. Others used the springboard of Islam to signify attitudes of

tolerance, as is noted here: “Peace is not fueled by hate. Anti-islamic atitudes [sic] will do

nothing but provoke more violence and injustice” (METAMORPHOSIS, 2015).

METAMORPHOSIS is here choosing to condemn violence by encouraging tolerance towards

Islam. Connection and interaction by actors from diverse backgrounds creates what Landorf

(2014) calls a “third space” (p. 35) wherein online activism makes a departure from

conventional activism. METAMORPHOSIS is able to operate in this space because it “acts as

a space somewhat removed from the threat of physical violence” (Landorf, 2014, p. 35).

According to Landorf (2014) the “third space” is used to undermine the construction of

violence through the presentation of social networking sites. Online activism takes hold of

the issue of violence and presents it in a way that is reflexively analyzed by its commentators.

In this way, “authors apply [reflexivity] to analyze [violence through] activism [within the]

third space” (Landorf, 2014, p. 36). Information which is conveyed by these types of citizen

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journalism represents a type of activist engagement that is replete with reflexive analysis.

However, the very function of this so-called third space has given rise to a myriad of

diverse opinions. Reflexive analysis, coupled with citizen journalism, has characterised this

third space as a site for the engagement of values that are specific and focused on Islam:

“Radical Islam and western values cannot coexist peacefully” (kataisa, 2015). kataisa’s identity

depends upon her Western values, which are here juxtaposed to the values of Islam.

Therefore, the social system of which she takes part in imparts to her a subjectivity based on

its conditioning. Any collective purpose can therefore be characterised by a reflexive

subjectivity (Shadid and van Koningsveld, 1996). Radical Islam and “the West” are both

constituted by collective purpose and in kataisa’s view are in opposition to each other. So,

what seems evident from this category is a juxtaposition of value systems that either produces

sentiments that push for tolerance or polarised opinions that express divisiveness.

No matter what the associated theme, one characteristic feature that unites all of the reflexive

Tweet content from the #jesuischarlie hashtag catalogue is an emphasis of emotional

investment.

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Chapter 5: Social Identity Theory Critique

As stated previously, themes such as freedom of expression and solidarity contribute

to the group contribution of the #jesuischarlie hashtag catalogue of information. After having

identified these key themes in the data so far and treating them to scientific academic

commentary to provide qualitative interpretations I now aim to critique the #jesuischarlie

data set using the proposed social identity theory from the body of work that was gathered

together and produced during the literature review.

The sheer popularity of the advocacy of freedom of expression proved it to be the first

response to the tragedy, as encapsulated by the following Twitter user: “Our freedom of

expression will always be precious to us. No one can ever take it away” (Scottasaurus, 2015)

According to social identity theory, this represents a recognition of a community value and

shows support for other members who identify with freedom of expression in the same way.

The online community created by the #jesuischarlie hashtag voice their opinions and create

discussions surrounding freedom of expression which means that, in terms of group

membership they identify with each other as well as their impassioned cause. This cause-

specific identification manifested a spirit of resistance in an open denunciation of what

threatens Western society, as expressed by the following Twitter user: “Charlie Hebdo: A

savage attack on freedom of expression and democracy” (Macintosh, 2015). Macintosh

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implies that when freedom of expression is threatened then so is democracy. According to

social identity theory, these values increase community sentiment and the commitment to

fixed principles. These value systems underlie the desire for freedom of expression and it is

notable that from the events that occurred through the Charlie Hebdo massacre people’s

perception of what freedom of expression means increases their identification with it. The

very act of this identification with freedom of expression means a facilitation of the

communities’ rights to express their own opinions about what the tragedy meant to them.

This produced multiple narratives that were united into a common stream of identity

that sought to denounce injustice and champion liberty: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to

liberty everywhere” (DonLuisdelaCosa, 2015). According to social identity theory, this type of

narrative is identity-relevant to the themes of injustice and liberty and its authorship appeals

to the collective identity of people who share these value systems. Liberty is central to the

collective identity of the #jesuischarlie collective and runs counter to what threatens it:

“Standing up for liberty in Paris as French eschew politics of fear” (Doc, 2015). Group

membership is constituted by the identity-relevant themes of courage in these narratives in

which the authors participate as an corporate person to represent their collectivity. This

collective identity is emphasised by the narrative created by the common elements that bind

the #jesuischarlie group together, which invited this question from one participant: “Is

#jesuischarlie a story? Does it demonstrate the construction of a collective identity?” (Inspired

Selection, 2015). Social identity theory explains that collective identity is voiced through

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meaning-making narratives. This means that the group’s identity narrative shows an overall

complexity of story-fragments. The #jesuischarlie narrative forms part of a cultural practice

containing a broad discourse with embedded reflexive constructions that are plurivocal

which expresses an overall collective identity. To refer to the literature on social identity

theory this implies that those who share the same principles are brought together to share a

common identification. This gives the #jesuischarlie group an image, reputation, and culture

of being one that champions freedom and is outspoken when things such as community or

society are threatened by violence. This is another example of how narratives or themes

contribute to a group’s identity.

Since violence was a hallmark of the tragedy I decided to use it as a search term in my

Twitter excavations. Twitter author Shannon Merrifield (2015) writes: “We must stand strong

against such brutal acts of violence.” In terms of identity theory, this aspect of allegiance

maximises overall feelings of group self-worth. There are numerous examples of the same

sentiment of solidarity abounding on Twitter from the dates surrounding the Charlie Hebdo

massacre. Sandra (2015) contributes to the maximisation of group self-worth when she writes:

“Standing strong together across the world.” These statements express sentiments of group-

regard in what Hetts and Pelham (1999) call implicit because they are associationistic. Moving

on from group-regard and the implications of collective identity, I wanted to investigate the

characteristics of in-group bias that are so crucial to social identity theory. Regards d’étudiants

(2015) writes that freedom of expression “conquers”. According to social identity theory this

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can be characterised as an example of in-group bias that is linked to an aspect of what Hetts

and Pelham (1999) call positive regard. Positive regard is closely linked to self-regard in the

field of social identity theory. I found this to be expressed in the words of Twitter user Fairouz

(2015) who makes a conscious and carefully considered addition to the #jesuischarlie

discussion by saying that real Muslims are against terrorism and that not all Muslims should

be blamed for the actions of a minority group (see Bibliography). This is what Hetts and

Pelham (1999) call an explicit form of self-regard. The desire for positive regard stems from

the desire for coherence, the desire to have one’s opinion heard whereby all aspects of the

development of positive self-regard help to regulate identity.

This type of regulation of identity was not simply limited to aspects of positive regard

but invited multifarious forms of criticism levelled at other participants in creation of a

discourse that proved to be conversational. Twitter user No More Donation$ (2015) uses the

Twitter platform to respond, interpersonally to the user RubinReport, to say that: “[the event]

does feel personal, just as Israel masacring [sic] innocent children in Gaza felt personal to

me.” In this instance, the user ties their social identity to their personal identity to reinforce

their concept of self through their interpersonal relationship to the other Twitter user4. This

notion of the self concept, drawn from social identity theory, is perfectly encapsulated by the

following user’s contribution: “an artist must express self. Umay [you may] cringe at whats

[sic] expressed but as an artist, to not express myself, is to be erased” (crazycatkid, 2015). The

4 The Tweet is likely to be a response to the other user as part of a direct conversation between the two users but the data from the other user was not locatable on the Twitter feed.

47

identification of herself as being an artist is, according to Hetts and Pelham (1999), a social

construction of this notion of the self-concept. In the terms of identity theory, the

idiosyncrasies within both of these communications here normalize their social identities.

There is a link between the self-concept and the conceptual framework of identity

expressed by the collective voice. What emerges from the collective voice are an assemblage

of values: “Freedom of speech, including the freedom to offend, ought to be one of our most

cherished values” (Schellhase, 2015). This suggests that the values that are expressed are

personal feelings to the author, however, in these sentiments there are aspects that express

standards which make them normative and therefore an expression of an identity that is

consensual to the #jesuischarlie group. As Burke and Stets (2000) argue, the personal identity

is linked to the social identity. It is these values that are tied to things such as affect that

provoke a consensual collective identity. An example of this is what Burke and Stets (2000)

call role identities within the group. Two examples of role-based identity are expressed in the

following two quotes - 17miledrive (2015) writes: “stop intolerance, unjust on behalf of

democracy values: freedom of expression,” with kataisa (2015) ushering in a similar sentiment

when writing: “Radical Islam and western values cannot coexist peacefully.” These users are

here using their values to fulfil a role-based identity. These role identities are a form of

interaction that negotiate certain perspectives and as an activity integrate the unique social

output of interrelated individuals. Thus far, the overriding theme has been the expression of

freedom and the maintenance of the meaning of freedom and its associations played out by

48

role-based identities which in turn maintains a complex interrelatedness to create a social

structure.

This unique interconnectedness, integral to the #jesuischarlie collective, produced a

social structure that was not only defined by role-based identities but produced a register of

attitudes that were negotiated by differing perspectives. The assertion of individuality

seemed to be a crucial theme in the register of attitudes observed: “the right to make fun of

things that are very important without fear is vital to a society that cares about individuality”

(Reid, 2015). The #jesuischarlie group can be seen as a micro social structure that creates roles

from within itself based on attitudes and values which perform and negotiate the various

different perspectives expressed.

These roles are defined by their attitudinal lines to form a social dimension to the

#jesuischarlie collective that began to produce a socially weighted commentary, a

manifestation of group-based identity which opened itself up to potential political

possibilities: “The transcending power of a hashtag: we can become activists and peaceful

revolutionists thru social media” (Khouri, 2015). The social movement that she participates in

has as its prime basis social identification. Her social media behaviour is reflected in the

vocabulary she uses, with terms such as peaceful revolution, activism, and the transcending

power of the hashtag all playing a part; her distinguished behaviour enhances the group’s

culture so that participation in the #jesuischarlie group demands the type of descriptions that

individuals can use to help label the group as a whole. The group continued to create a

49

culture of activism with a heavy identification with revolutionary possibilities: “Participate in

the revolution of ideas, defend freedom of expression” (Maingot, 2015). This type of social

media behaviour is concerted and leads the group towards an identification with a revolution

of ideas; it is an attitude that is uniformly positive. Concerted, or more aptly, coordinated

social media behaviour(s) are the impressions of evaluations that the #jesuischarlie group

members are making in their efforts to publicize their feelings in the wake of the incident.

What is noticeable is the performance of identity roles that are largely attitudinal, somewhat

behavioural, yet, not cognitive, to refer back to Burke and Stets (2000); they are not cognitive

performance roles since the content we are evaluating is free from social stereotyping. Rather,

what the identity roles reveal are a register of attitudes. This attitude towards revolution

continued to be propagated, forming a large part of the cross-section of Twitter users who

were assuming identity roles. That is to say, that the political possibility for revolution was

characteristic of an identity role. Twitter author Mad Noune (2015) writes: “The revolution is

launched.” Her role identity is the perception of the action which accompanies it. Not only is

she identifying with revolution but her perception is that a revolution will be the response to

the event she is participating in. By participating in a response to the event, Twitter users

were able to shape the narrative by identifying with revolution in this way.

The social media environment created by the #jesuischarlie hashtag phenomenon was

replete with activism, as has been discovered thus far, but it took an interesting departure

when Twitter author Sheri Leblanc (2015) decided to pose a very pertinent question, writing:

50

“What does Twitter activism accomplish?” Journalist Rowena Lindsay (2015) wonders

whether hashtag activism, each with their previously short lifespans, is doomed to fail with

the #jesuischarlie hashtag. She writes that there is always a response on Twitter when

tragedy strikes. For the event surrounding the #jesuischarlie hashtag she writes that the

Tweets fall into three categories: 1) solidarity; 2) freedom of speech; 3) Islam. Any sense of

belonging to the #jesuischarlie group depends upon information from these categories - some

of which I have touched upon thus far - and it seems emphatic that these three categories

dominate the discourse surrounding the event according to social media. As Jenkins (2008)

has stated, the social psychology of the group depends upon categories such as these.

Of the third category, Islam, Twitter author Weller (2015) writes: “And still we let them

build their mosques in our town and city's[,] spreading hatred on our doorsteps.” This

problematizes the discourse and fragments the #jesuischarlie group; those who hold opinions

on the topics of solidarity and freedom of expression will not necessarily hold the same

opinions as members of the group using the #jesuischarlie platform to voice their opinions

about Islam. It also problematizes our analysis thus far, also, in that as the case study

discussion of the #jesuischarlie group has evolved and we have seen its character we noticed,

first of all, that identity roles were attitudinal and behavioural but not cognitive. However, in

light of the third category, Islam, and the notions that are contained within #jesuischarlie

Tweets about Islam in response to the event we do apparently see confirmation of a social

51

stereotype beginning to form5. Lindsay (2015) describes this social stereotype as “gratuitous

finger pointers” in relation to the other two categories which are instead either “outraged

lesson finders,” as in the cases where Twitter users identified with the value of freedom of

expression, or “heartfelt sympathizers,” in the cases where Twitter users evoked sympathy

and called for solidarity. There is another way to problematize the discourse based on what

has been shown from Twitter author Weller (2015). By grouping all Moslems underneath the

same umbrella in the way that the author uses the pronoun “them” as opposed to “us”, as if it

were them versus us, they are performing their identity role from the standpoint of otherness.

This particular author doesn’t account for the countless other Moslems in the Moslem

population who perform their identity roles through speaking out against aggression and/or

terrorism. This is what Lindsay (2015) calls: “Muslims [who] are speaking out against the

actions of the terrorists so as not to be grouped in with their violence simply because of

shared religious beliefs.” So in this sense, narratives can be identity-relevant but not

necessarily tied to the same group membership as one such as freedom of expression or

solidarity. What was forming within the subset of speakers belonging to the #jesuischarlie

collective that were discussing Islam were, in reference to social identity theory, the

development of cognitive performance roles. Twitter user Eye on Truth (2015) writes:

“Islamophobia? Fear of Islam NOT irrational. Plenty of evidence to support rational fear.”

This kind of information is highly dependent upon its context. Contextually, it is a type of

5 It would be better to acknowledge this at this stage rather than negate what we have already said about stereotypes not affecting the attitudinal and behavioural lines of identity roles that belong to the categorization of solidarity and freedom of speech.

52

propaganda since the user also uses the hashtag #JeSuisJuif [I am a Jew] alongside the

#jesuischarlie hashtag and the microblog information is accompanied by an infographic that

criticises Islam. This may constitute an whole other type of group membership identification

from the types we have just analysed. From among these cognitive performance roles were

contributions that polarised the opinions forming around the subject of Islam from within the

#jesuischarlie collective, such as this example from the following Twitter user: “Islamic

radicalism is a distinctive, ISOLATED entity and shouldn't be associated with Islam as a

whole” (Yeboah, 2015), adding balance to the group’s overall dynamic. This dynamic

fluctuated between either encouragement for the tolerance of religious values or the outright

condemnation of them, as is evident here: “Explain a "God" who values & prefers blind,

murderous allegiance over the lives of some of its most evolved creations” (Isaacs, 2015).

These particular opinions serve the #jesuischarlie hashtag catalogue group as what Brown

(2006) calls an attributional bias that orchestrates a personal expression of identity. The nature

of this personal opinion is an individual identification with the #jesuischarlie group.

What was interesting to note was how these manifestations of individual identification

through the expression of personal opinions continued to evoke sympathy whilst at the same

time also continued to contain identifications for the values that have been discussed thus far.

Twitter author Ali (2015) writes: “Feeling awful for the people in Paris. Free speech is my

number one jam.” She falls into the category of defending freedom of speech and views

herself as an individual who acquires meaning through identifying in this way; the

53

impression that the #jesuischarlie group gives to group members like Ali is how it imparts

meaning. What is attested to by social identity theory is also confirmed by the analysis of the

previous chapter, in that, identities are composed by self-views that emerge from each group

member’s activity of reflexive self-categorization. They form part of a moralistic guide to the

forms of meaning that are conveyed.

This meaning is given further credence by the overall impetus that typifies

#jesuischarlie as a social movement as Twitter author Millicent Scott (2015) testifies:

“#JeSuisCharlie is the most tweeted hashtag in Twitter history. That's global solidarity in

practice right there.” Her social media behaviour in reference to solidarity forms part of a

guide that sets a standard for meaning and expectation, expectation in the sense that other

people will be persuaded by her message to acquiesce with it. What makes the #jesuischarlie

movement coalesce is the striking uniformity of opinion that runs through the content stream,

particularly a sense of support for the victims coupled with the denunciation of terror: “I

stand with the people of France for freedom and against global terrorism” (Marilyn, 2015).

This Twitter user’s social media behaviour contains what Burke and Stets (2000) call

expectation. She regards freedom as a shared value with others, namely, the people of France,

which invokes a meaning to form part of a wider social movement. What is evident is that

this social movement categorically aligns itself with a preference for democratic values in

relation to the content produced by the participants, as is notable here: “There is no

democracy without journalism... Silence is the end of freedom” (Mac, 2015). Her

54

identification with the value of freedom forms a major part of the context in which the social

structure of the #jesuischarlie group gains its sense of recognition and occupies a position

which defines the role of each group member.

Returning to role-based identities, each member clearly occupies their own position in

the recognition of their own portrayal of value, and express opinions that confirm to other

participants that those who lost their lives did so to propagate the continuation of these

values: “I salute all those who lost their lives exercising their human right of freedom of

expression” (Kgautlhe, 2015). In this sense, freedom is relevant to the formation of this

particular participant’s identity which, according to Burke and Stets (2000), is the category to

which he belongs. His group membership, along with the others’, is combined uniquely with

the social category of identity upon which his social identity is based and which also makes

up his self-concept. Je Suis Charlie, as a social movement, helps people derive a sense of

identity, motivated by social categories such as “freedom”, and brings about a sense of

belonging. Notions of acceptance, affinity, association, and attachment are fostered by the

particular social category of identity, such as Twitter author Alicia (2015) who writes:

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, their own speech, their own religion, and their

own life.” The meaning here is maximised by the specific context of freedom through which

she is engaging and this type of cognitive categorization helps to show the similarities of

social media behaviour in the #jesuischarlie group. In this way, through her identification

with the value of freedom, she embodies the values of the group and becomes an exemplary

55

representation of group membership. She, alongside the others who identify in this way, is

what Hogg et. al. (1995) call a prototype. Their group membership is defined by the social

field of meaning that freedom imparts and how they share the same perspectives.

The #jesuischarlie group shares the cognitive aspects of prototypes, in that, what is

embodied in the individual is embodied by the group. As prototypes they are represented by

subjective beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours which are also attributed to the group to make up

active social categories that construct socially relevant information from the interaction.

These expressions, whether they are concerning things such as freedom of expression or

solidarity, are examples of what Jenkins (2008) calls cognitive simplification which is required

to manage a complex world of information overload and produces stereotypes that are

generated collectively. Cognitive simplification is a universal process which is mediated by

the contingent social categories from which the individual social media behaviour emerges.

These social categorizations are what generates social identity.

56

Chapter 6: Conclusion

This research has created a taxonomy from the #jesuischarlie hashtag catalogue to

systematically classify expressions of social media content surrounding the Charlie Hebdo

massacre. Systematic Internet ethnography assisted in providing a unique sample set of

attitudes and opinions concerning the events to produce a hermeneutical and qualitative

interpretation of the data found. When dealing with representations of self-presentation,

such as is the nature of analysing Twitter content, directly connected to the text was the

writer’s reflexive self-presence. Studying an entire social world such as that comprised by the

#jesuischarlie hashtag catalogue has proven to produce a mixture of subjective claims,

authoritative claims, and questionable claims, especially with regards to identity. The validity

of the knowledge produced by this research has contributed to reconciling tensions

concerning notions of subjectivity in which a number of possible stories were investigated.

The textual data collected contained notions of realism and subjectivity that were a

product of the digital environment from which they arose. Social media consumers could be

said to have made the Je Suis Charlie motif into a cause to which they aligned themselves as

impassioned social media users in order to question perceived value systems. What

happened upon the social media platform of Twitter created an online environment replete

with nuanced semiotic content. The ethnographic method allowed participants to be

57

observed as a culture that evolved from out of a community which helps us to understand a

pertinent social phenomena. The commentary produced by the case study has provided a

pertinent framework for understanding social media conversation surrounding the news

media event. The content associated with the hashtag catalogue produced a unique and

relevant collection of information and Twitter as a web platform produces relevant

information contributed by its many participants. Questions concerning Twitter users’

identities presented a range of preferences that were each influenced by the online social

forum environment.

According to the evidence, some interesting observations can be made. In the case of

Tweets that exhibited content that advocated freedom of expression, their justification for

doing so depended very much on participation in intellectual engagement and showed

characteristics of moral purposefulness. The means by which freedom of expression was

encouraged was seen as a responsibility by the Twitter users towards the collective conscience

of people participating in the #jesuischarlie movement. The requirement of freedom of

speech can be seen as a necessary condition to the survival of liberty and in emphasising this

the Twitter users were expressing a form of engaged citizenship. What was additionally

evident in the freedom of speech category was a performative repertoire of conscious activity

that acted as a marker for Twitter identity. The variety of situational contexts created a face

for each interaction where individuals were performing on multiple stages and forming

impressions. In this part of the discourse analysis I questioned whether perceptions were

58

ultimately changed by social media activism and whether the content of the message of

advocacy towards freedom of expression was revolutionary. What I found was that the

Twitter platform allowed for the speedy dissemination of information and the means by

which to organise activists, so in this sense it proved to have a highly efficient practical

application. As a platform of opinion, the freedom of expression category produced a

diversity of opinion producing multiple cultures that reacted to the injustice. Due to the style

of language, these cultures of identity can be viewed as young, authentic, and resistant to the

dominant order which produced a landscape of spectacular, fragmented communication.

Narratives of identity were shown to be linked to morality suggesting that the

#jesuischarlie collective generated messages of solidarity out of a collective conscience. Being

the product of a cultural process, the emergence of the theme of solidarity allowed members

of the #jesuischarlie collective to feel a common identity in order to mobilise together in

action. This culture espousing solidarity produced narratives of moral intent. A global

connection to a locally engaged community was able to transcend borders in the call for

solidarity, inviting sympathy from those outside Paris for example. The extension of

emotional support can be seen as a direct political action that was geared towards

encouraging tolerance and deflecting blame away from Moselms. Through the identification

of a need for sympathy emerged a social exigency manifested within the performative

contributions of the Twitter users. The networked spectacular messages were organised into

a coherent stream of group communication that transformed the movement from a reflexive

59

community of commentators into a vehicle of protest, which meant that “the message is the

message” evolved into “the medium is the movement”. This spectacle of dissent transformed

the discourse throughout social media networking to become the international protest

community that the #jesuischarlie phenomenon represented. The worldviews and

viewpoints created by the #jesuischarlie collective were likely subject to a confirmation bias

subject to environmental factors which brought about a prioritisation of values.

Those who were critical of Islam as the cause of the terror attacks produced identities

that had the characteristic of civic narcissism made possible by the anonymity provided for

by the platform to produce dialogue that was dominant and aggressive. The reflexive

analysis and activist engagement of citizen journalism from within the third space brought

together actors from diverse backgrounds to undermine constructions of violence from these

so-called civic narcissists. The polarised opinions expressing divisiveness were juxtaposed

with values that encouraged tolerance. The call for social action encapsulates the

epistemology of the dialogue as individual identities were formulated through the reflexive

discourse process. The digital space was transformed by the discursive power of framing

social issues reflexively and most anti-violence sentiments produced affective reactions that

were value-specific. Emotional investment was a characteristic feature of each contribution

producing identifications that were cause-specific and displayed a social conscience.

What was noticeable from the Twitter users is that whatever principles they were

expressing were expressed as a performative action through the vehicle of online journalism.

60

The importance of journalistic ideals can be emphasised by a sense of embracing democratic

values and advocated through citizen involvement in the process of public discussion. Tied

to this was the profession of an ethical code that was exclusively connected to the public

dimension of journalism, producing a journalism of conviction that brought into disrepute

political assumptions and used public opinion to question power structures.

The narrative setting produced by the #jesuischarlie hashtag catalogue proved to be a

fertile breeding ground for the expression of personal agency, which is contingent upon

identity, that produced reflexive content aimed at bringing about social change. Each Tweet

formed part of an autobiographical discourse. This sense of personal agency allowed social

conditions to be shaped by messages such as those advocating freedom of expression,

solidarity, or those critical of Islam, or questioning morality, and out of this information and

communication arose an autonomous social structure. In analysing the evidence, it can be

seen that these themes were explicitly tied to the expression of personal agency. The

emergence of reflexivity provided the condition whereby this personal agency could be

understood. The Twitter user’s advocacy of their espoused identification appeared to

encouraged tolerance and the celebration of differences so that individuality should be

allowed to flourish. The #jesuischarlie network constructed an image of individuality that

appeared to be intrinsic to their version of a just society. This sense of individuality was

reinforced by each user’s sense of agency in the way they rallied to the cause and expressed

their opinions. This collective sense of agency created structural conditions for these

61

messages to epitomise the group’s narrative.

Throughout the social identity theory critique of the data set I was able to show how

these categories of freedom, solidarity, and Islam formed part of the #jesuischarlie group and

emphasised its inter-group processes of social identification. What I found was that

individual meaning is made reference to by the group itself to form an overall social

structure; the #jesuischarlie hashtag collective has social rules attributed to it which influence

and produce certain types of social media behaviour. Representations were shared and

appropriated by attached behaviours and social identity was the product of an internalization

of a collective identification. Categories such as freedom, solidarity, or views about Islam are

thereby defined collectively. Members of the #jesuischarlie group recognize what is

externally defined by the categories which direct the group and direct the individual’s social

media behaviour so that meaning is acquired. Je Suis Charlie became a cause which could be

identified with by the social media consumers who sustained their identification through

their group membership. I was able to show that the type of social media behaviour

displayed by members of the #jesuischarlie group began to see the cause as, what Reichart

Smith and Smith (2012) call, an extension of themselves. The cause itself is identified with

globally by a group of social media consumers whose social identity is formed by either the

in-group biases of freedom and solidarity or the out-group bias of opinions that are negative

to Islam. Social identity is primarily motivated by individuals and I have shown that the

establishment of biases by various members from various social groups. Freedom of

62

expression and solidarity are individual identifications through which the group experiences

oneness and a sense of belonging which accompanies group membership of the #jesuischarlie

hashtag phenomenon. I was able to show that personal identity merged with social identity

in the formation of what was a social movement. Social identity, which is made up of group

membership that takes into account organizational and demographic contexts, is tied to

individuality and perceptions of people’s sense of self. Group membership within the

#jesuischarlie phenomenon evokes particular emotions and sentiments which are significant

to the values and attachments of those who participated in the #jesuischarlie movement.

63

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