Today, audiences are shaping the cultural agenda. Empowered to speak up for the causes they believe in, people are actively calling out brands they see as inauthentic. What are the main drivers of this behavioural shift? And how can brands win the trust of these outspoken advocates?

The past decade has seen political polarisation – accelerated by social media’s filter bubbles and echo chambers – deepen and mutate. An ominous era of a polycrisis has shattered any remaining societal consensus. Meanwhile, powerful anti-establishment voices have stepped into the void.

NY Times podcast Still Processing provides a space in which cultural figures and works are explored, offering discussion and understanding amid the cancel and call-out context. It encourages listeners to meditate on cultural moments, and form an opinion through considered conversation.

Today, audiences are shaping the cultural agenda. Social media has empowered people to speak up for the causes they believe in, and they’re responding by activelycalling out brandsthey see asinauthentic. Communities are increasingly aware of their power to influence brands and are not afraid to use it. In the wake of the global Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020, it became commonplace for brands to advocate for anti-racist policies and radical change. As time passed, and these changes never materialised, people began to identify shallow brand activism and performative allyship as ‘purpose-washing’. Under a critical eye, brands are required to show up for longer than anews cycle,Pride month, or yearly DE&I pledges. A consistent track record of empowering communities andproviding material supportto the marginalised is essential to dispel wary cynics, who might otherwise accuse a brand of exploiting a community as a marketing strategy. Moreover, the nature of audience-driven action has shifted towards more direct demands. People are using open communication channels like social media to instigate change, be it Redditusers initiating a protest ‘blackout’or activists forcing art institutions torefuse donations from the Sackler family. These assertive audiences are writing the script forhow brand actions are perceived, meaning it’s more important than ever to determine where a brand stands onpolarising issues.

When indie developer Glumberland announced an exclusive distribution deal with Epic Games, the response from fans was swift and furious. With gamer communities becoming as important as the games themselves, the backlash shed light on the power of players – and some of their toxic behaviors.

Instagram has been criticised for applying different rules around nudity to different body types after comedian Celeste Barber’s parody photo was censored, while the original image of a thin model was not. It's the latest incident to prompt accusations that its algorithm is discriminatory.