So sorry, now please watch: Identifying image repair strategies, sincerity and forgiveness in YouTubers’ apology videos

Abstract

Many professional and amateur YouTubers are apologizing for their past and current behaviors, which led to the creation of a new media genre called the YouTube apology video. Despite the overflow of these videos, their impact is still questionable to understand the magnitude of this online apology. Thus, applying image repair theory (IRT), this two-part exploratory study examined the message construction, strategies, sincerity and forgiveness of YouTubers’ apology videos. Study 1 was a content analysis of YouTube apology videos (N = 117), and the findings indicated that YouTubers carefully curated their natural appearance and overemphasized the phrase “I’m sorry” to direct their viewers, emphasizing on the mortification strategy. Study 2 utilized Logan Paul’s infamous apology video to conduct an online survey (N = 194), which identified the relationship between perceived sincerity and forgiveness. Our findings suggest that prior connections with the YouTuber increased viewers’ chance of forgiveness, and perceived sincerity was the predictor of forgiveness. Implications of the findings are discussed in terms of future guidelines for crisis communication.