Auditioning for humanity: the geopolitics of social media and the question of Palestine

Chatterjee, Shraddha and Subramanian, Prerna (2025) Auditioning for humanity: the geopolitics of social media and the question of Palestine. Gender, Place & Culture. pp. 1-14. ISSN 0966-369X

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Abstract

This article grapples with the epistemological, geopolitical, and affective conditions through which Palestinian resistance is mediated and consumed on social media. We ask: How do narratives surrounding Palestine emerge and circulate in the digital age? What does it mean for Palestinians to be seen as “human,” and what are the costs and possibilities of such recognition? How does the nexus of settler colonialism, racial capitalism, and American
exceptionalism influence the dehumanization of Palestinians? We answer these questions by engaging with the paradoxical dynamics of social media as a space where Palestinians document the ongoing genocide and seek solidarity while being forced to perform humanity within frameworks that devalue their lives. We explore how Palestinians are exceptionalized in ways that risk abstracting them from the systemic violence they resist. These processes are not unique to Palestine, but emerge within a transnational digital economy where geopolitical struggles are mediated through similar logics of visibility, affect, and consumption. Further, using examples such as the circulation of a BTS photo-card found in Gaza’s rubble, we critique how Palestinian suffering is transformed into consumable narratives while considering how social media can be reimagined as a site of solidarity and resistance. Rather than offering definitive conclusions, we emphasize the tension between lamenting these commodified engagements and recognizing their potential for fostering material acts of organizing against abandonment. We encourage critical reflections on the interplay of social media and the politics of (de)humanization, while holding space for the complexities of relational accountability and collective struggle.

Item Type: Article
Keywords: Celebrity culture | ethnic studies | feminism | mediastudies |queer theory | race and indigeneity
Subjects: Social Sciences and humanities > Social Sciences > Social Sciences (General)
Social Sciences and humanities > Social Sciences > Political Science
JGU School/Centre: Jindal Global Law School
Depositing User: Mr. Gautam Kumar
Date Deposited: 23 May 2025 08:34
Last Modified: 23 May 2025 08:34
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2025.2505652
URI: https://pure.jgu.edu.in/id/eprint/9561

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