#MeToo as an ‘angry mob’ or in search of meaning? Using language to assess the focus of #MeToo tweets across four events

Abstract

The Twitter #MeToo movement has been characterized as an angry mob, out for revenge. However, several lines of research warrant a critical evaluation of this characterization: (1) social movements are often delegitimized; (2) anger is an inconsistent response to sexual assault; and (3) preliminary evidence suggests a focus of #MeToo was meaning-making. To evaluate the focus of #MeToo, the language of tweets was assessed across four sequential events, each associated with peak usage of the hashtag. Three mixed measures ANOVAs showed there were more cognitive than emotion words, suggesting a greater thought-than anger-focus. The patterns of first versus third-person pronoun usage differed at the first event compared to the last event, consistent with a change in focus from meaning-making to meaning-made. Power words were accompanied by more first-person singular pronouns than first-person plural pronouns at all events, suggesting tweeters were focused more on personal empowerment, than attaining power over others. We conclude that #MeToo language was not focused on anger and revenge, but on personal empowerment and meaning-making, and that examining the language of social media movements can help to understand whether criticisms of these movements are evidence-based, or backlash.