Neutralization without Drift: The Aesthetics of Cruelty in Hateful Meme Sharing

Abstract While some of the hate that is posted on social media aligns with extremist ideologies, the sharing of hateful memes often defies rational explanation, prompting new inquiries into online deviant behaviour. Traditional neutralization theory assumes a temporary suspension of moral values, but sharers of hateful memes may not always perceive their actions as wrongful. When transgression is unacknowledged, there is no moral drift to justify. These findings question neutralization’s relevance within digital criminology and suggest a need to rethink its relationship with drift. This paper argues that sharing hate within group-based social media can be understood as an aesthetic of cruelty, which temporarily unites posters within a refracted, tribalistic community that is upheld through the symbolic humour of memes.