It’s arguably the civil trial of the century, one full of extraordinary particulars and far soiled laundry. Actor Johnny Depp is suing his ex-wife Amber Heard for $50 million over a 2018 op-ed she wrote for The Washington Publish, which chronicled her experiences as a home abuse survivor. Whereas Depp was by no means talked about by title, his legal professionals contend that it was apparent who Heard referred to within the piece, and that the article broken Depp’s profession and status.

Depp has testified that Disney dropped him from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise simply days after the story hit, and that he misplaced upwards of $22.5 million to reprise his function as Captain Jack Sparrow.

In response, Heard, who can also be an actor, has filed a $100 million countersuit – and her authorized workforce has alleged that she was defamed when Depp and his legal professionals known as her allegations false!

The he-said, she-said drama has been extensively adopted, because the case has been streaming dwell on each Court docket TV and Regulation & Crime. It has additionally been carefully adopted on social media, and simply this week quite a lot of hashtags associated to the case have been trending, together with #JusticeForJohnny, #AmberHeardIsAPsycopath, #AmberHeardIsInnocent and #IStandWithAmberHeard.

It’s usually mentioned, particularly on the earth of leisure, there isn’t any such factor as “dangerous publicity,” however given the eye this case has garnered that will not be true.

“The Depp vs Heard trial is the most recent instance of how social media has turn out to be the brand new barometer of public opinion that makes or breaks careers,” defined Anthony Silard, Ph.D., associate professor of leadership and the director of the Center for Sustainable Leadership at Luiss Business School in Rome.

“Simply kind #JusticeforJohnny or #IStandwithAmberHeard into Twitter for a heaping serving of vitriol from either side,” mentioned Silard. “This social-media-abetted polarization could appear entertaining at first look, but it surely’s truly a dystopian instance of how social media is tearing us aside as a society. Whether or not it is masks sporting, Trump vs. Biden, NFL gamers taking a knee in the course of the nationwide anthem or the Slap Heard Across the World, social media has turn out to be the brand new arbiter of proper and unsuitable.”

Silard warned that social media has been a consider how the extent of polarization within the U.S. has reached an unprecedented degree.

“Now that our expertise of different folks with views totally different from our personal has been whittled all the way down to temporary textual content missives learn on social media, as latest analysis has found we not see members of the opposition as even possessing the degrees of pondering and feeling we attribute to human beings,” Silard continued.

Following The Case On Social Media

Even because the courtroom drama may be streamed each day, many individuals aren’t bothering to truly watch. As a substitute, it’s adopted by sound bites, clips and memes. That definitely is impacting the court docket of public opinion.

“The Depp and Heard case is extremely difficult, but has nonetheless been distilled into quick, TikTok-sized segments which can be simple to digest however can usually be inaccurate or taken out of context. By watching just a few posts, TikTok and different social media platforms will proceed to serve the consumer comparable content material, solidifying a one-sided impression of the happenings within the trial,” mentioned Courtney Pade, scientific assistant professor of communication and assistant director of the Masters of Communication Management Program at USC.

“Folks on social media are pushed to get the rewards or affirmation that exist in getting likes and views,” added Colin Campbell, assistant professor of promoting on the Knauss School of Business at the University of San Diego. “This makes influencers and customers motivated to publish about matters – like this trial – that they know others are involved in and can react to. This impact amplifies the time and a focus that’s dedicated to content material that’s deemed ‘spicy.'”

Social media is not one of the simplest ways to comply with a trial, which may be inherently advanced and infrequently very nuanced.

“Social media consideration spans are quick. This leads to very quick clips, and even remixes of clips, of trials being posted that probably do not convey the total context a press release is made in. As we have seen, this may be damaging for each Heard and Depp,” mentioned Campbell. “My analysis on shopper generated content material finds that folks on social media love humor, particularly irony. So any info that runs counter to what an individual could have mentioned earlier than or their public picture is ripe to be was a meme.”

This case has additionally confirmed that there’s such a factor as dangerous press, particularly within the days of social media, and there may be unlikely to be any winner – whatever the final result.

“Whereas social media throughout this case has leaned closely in Depp’s favor, the query is whether or not this sentiment is mirrored within the jury or, as a substitute, a distorted view because of prolific content material creators,” mentioned Pade. “Each actors know that the court docket of public opinion is extra necessary to their careers than the end result of the trial and are utilizing it as a mechanism for visible storytelling. However, this consumption by way of social media additionally permits viewers to keep away from extra nuanced and tough discussions round home abuse.”