Partisan responses to cancel culture on social media: hostile media effects on political behavior

Purpose This study investigates the relationship between partisan motivated reasoning, hostile media perception (HMP) and partisan political behaviors related to cancel culture. Specifically, it examines how partisan perceptions of media and social media bias influence support for censorship legislation and punitive measures against companies engaged in social advocacy. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted with 460 US participants recruited from Prolific’s sample. ANOVA tests were performed to assess partisan differences in attitudes toward cancel culture coverage, hostile media perception and hostile social media perception (HSMP) as well as political behaviors. Mediation analyses were conducted to explore the indirect effects of HMP and HSMP on support for censorship policies and punitive corporate actions. Findings The results show that Republicans reported more negative perceptions of media and social media portrayals of cancel culture than Democrats and Independents. Hostile media perception (HMP) was positively associated with support for censorship-related legislation (SFL) and punitive actions against companies engaged in social advocacy (PACES). Hostile social media perception (HSMP) also corresponded with higher levels of support for these measures. Attitudes toward cancel culture (ATCC) and HMP functioned as mediators in these observed associations. Originality/value This study advances the literature on HMP by extending it to include HSMP as a distinct yet related construct. It adopts a novel approach to examine how partisan motivated reasoning contributes to the formation of ATCC, HMP and HSMP and how these orientations correspond with support for partisan legislative efforts and punitive actions directed at corporations that endorse socially progressive issues. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-02-2025-0130