In the era of the digital opinion, social media polarization is growing (Törnberg, 2022). Polarization on social media can appear in the form of people advocating for a certain point of view over the other. Sometimes a large number of individuals in a certain society can share what is called a ”popular” opinion which according to thesaurus dictionary “is a believe or sentiment shared by most people” the definition doesn’t define what it means by “most people” so it could range from most people in a city up to most people in different countries etc.
What is interesting but not surprising is that Thesaurus dictionary listed “Public Opinion”, a more political term, as a synonym to the noun “Popular Opinion”
Looking back to these definitions, let’s ask ourselves these questions, if an opinion is popular in one city, does it have to popular in the other even if they’re in the same country? If an opinion is popular in Europe, does it have to be popular in the Middle East? Is an unpopular opinion the direct opposite of the popular one? Or can the “unpopular opinion” present a group a large group of people less in number than those falling under “popular opinion” holders? Is the unpopular opinion really unpopular? Try to keep these questions in mind as we move on in this article.
In the following text we’ll explore what factors can influence an opinion and mark it as “popular” and “unpopular”. We’ll discuss how they can be used in political discourse and how important they are to freedom of speech. Few cases of “popular” and “unpopular” opinions will also be presented to try to explore why they’re popular and how.
Let’s get to theories on how an “unpopular opinion” is formed. Some theories suggest that unpopular opinions are simply the opposite of the majority opinion, however, in his “Popularity of unpopular opinions” article, Mathias Ockenfels suggests that Unpopular opinions are deliberately named “unpopular” as a tactic to draw attention to them for an underlying reason. “I noticed a growing trend within the global community of tech VCs of so called “unpopular opinion”-tweets, tweet storms and, sometimes, related blogposts. While these opinions are labeled as “unpopular”, they are usually exactly the opposite: They are meant to fuel the author ‘s popularity by addressing our basic urges and are aimed to appear “provocative “. Most of these „unpopular opinion tweets “follow a very similar and simple, but highly effective and, in my view, often hypocritical playbook” (Ockenfels, 2021). Here’s
This opinion gained 27 thousand likes on X, previously known as Twitter, does this make it a popular opinion now? Coming back to Ockenfwls view, a question would present itself, why are opinions being labeled as popular or unpopular if not to serve a political cause? Opinions are thoughts on a matter, however labeling them doesn’t mean they’re truly popular or unpopular. For example, a group of people can be scared to express their true opinion for a reason or can have a different opinion underlying regardless of how much relative freedom of expression they’re given.
In connection to the pervious points, a theory developed by German survey and communication researcher Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann named “Spiral of Silence” says that “that people’s willingness to express their opinions on controversial public issues is affected by their largely unconscious perception of those opinions as being either popular or unpopular. Specifically, the perception that one’s opinion is unpopular tends to inhibit or discourage one’s expression of it, while the perception that it is popular tends to have the opposite effect” (Petersen, 2016) this relates to the previous point that what might seem as a popular opinion may not be actually popular.
Traditions are probably one of the biggest factors that form our perception on different matt. If an individual is convinced with a certain traditional view on a matter, it would be difficult to find an opinion that opposes them acceptable, however, some traditions are also being influenced by globalization. So really, what makes an opinion unpopular in our modern society? One answer could be the ideology spread through large media platforms watched by many around the world. One thing is for sure, unpopular opinion could become popular over time, this could also mean, what was popular also became unpopular.
Few Examples on How Unpopular Opinions Can Become Popular
Few societies have changed their view on what is now called LGBTQ+ rights.Its true a lot of societies are still against it such Uganda “- Life imprisonment is the maximum penalty for same-sex relations in Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, while jail terms of up to 14 years are possible in Gambia, Kenya and Malawi.”(Reuters, 2023), however, in the EU it has become quite the norm and a way of accepting everybody in society and same-sex marriage is legal in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Norway,
“many of the rights we currently hold dear were once considered unpopular and dangerous. When people first started advocating for abolition of slavery, the end of segregation laws, and the right for women to vote, they were widely dismissed as divisive and harmful to society” (The Three Arguments in Support of Free Speech)
Another example would be fashion trends, a simple yet strong example, some fashion looks are named unpopular because they’re ‘last year trends’ based on the new fashion lines, magazines and online sites.
So can an unpopular opinion factors be really defined? It’s definitely a mix of many factors including times, place, influence, context, and media/ governmental discourse.
Opinion Popularity and its Effects in Politics
Opinion politicization may be split into two major umbrella uses in politics, the first one would be the government or leaders trying to influence public discourse through silencing unpopular opinion or labeling them as unpopular, while the other would be an individual censoring their own opinion in order to protect their image or fit in.
If we take a look at the work place where expressing unpopular political opinions can have real reputational and material costs. Prior research shows that job applicants who express political views incongruent with that of a potential hiring manager receive lower hire-ability ratings (Roth et al., 2020)
Censoring your own opinion to avoid harm shows how freedom of speech is declining in modern society “Although it might seem to be a positive thing, that tolerance is a trend in modern society, it can have quite interesting consequences. There are many topics that are taboo in this or that society right now. In some cases, even if you just try to bring those topics to a civil conversation or debate, you will be harshly labeled as some horrible person and instantly become a „persona non grata“. This ultimately kills any potential for constructive debate and deeply limits your freedom of speech. I won’t mention any specific examples in this article, but these topics are often related to gender, race, religion, politics or social roles.” ((Aleksanyan, 2019)
According to a study, a self censored opinion produces a decrease in the importance assigned to that opinion. Similar results were found for extremity: People who self-censored their opinion also subsequently expressed less extreme views. In other words, people attenuate the extremity and importance of their opinions to be consistent with their self-censorship behavior. (Talaifar & Ashokkumar, 2023)
Let’s consider a larger scale effect, the media field is also known as the fourth estate, so to which extent can censoring journalists harm the society? “To ensure that governments work with the interests of their citizens in mind, it is essential that journalists are able to freely ask politicians difficult questions. This keeps citizens informed and compels the government to speak frankly about what it is doing. And journalists and citizens need to be able to express their concerns to their representatives, either through writing or some other form of expression, like protests.” (European Liberties Platform, 2021)
In the case of Syria, the Syrian government stated that any opinion against it’s entity was not the opinion of the majority. In it’s official channels, the government promoted the idea of people being pro Asaad, and that those against him were not Syrian or hold a minority’s unpopular opinion. They banned all other TV channels from airing in the country and cut access to WiFi during bombings. How is censoring or marking the opposition opinion as “unpopular” dangerous in this case? The population in Syria became scattered, the official channel would hide the truth which caused a chain of false information to spread to the public. Those without WiFi or some access to various channels, believed the government to an extent, while a big part of them chose to side with the popular opinion set by the government. In this case, the government held on to its narrative strongly in its official channels, which even after the war made it look innocent in the eyes of those who believed the official channel. It caused the Syrian nation to separate rather than stick together against the regime. “Journalists and human rights defenders have been charged and detained pursuant to Article 285 and 286 of the Penal Code for undermining national unity and promoting fake news.151 Media Law 108/2011, the Cybercrime Law 17/2012 and the subsequent Anti-Cybercrime Law 9/2018 grant the government authority to arrest individuals for their online expressions with little or no judicial oversight.” (Access Now et al., 2021)
“When those in power censor unpopular opinions or limit public discussion, they are interfering with a crucial part of the democratic process and their actions can weaken the public’s trust in government. As the late Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wrote, the Founders believed “the greatest menace to freedom is an inert people; that public discussion is a political duty; and that this should be a fundamental principle of the American government.”” (The Three Arguments in Support of Free Speech)
How Can Allowing “Unpopular Opinions” be beneficial to Society? And how can they harm it?
The best decision on a matter would probably be the result of listening to all points of views with an open mind set. This of course is probably where ultimate freedom of speech can be achieved. However, this is also tricky because freedom of expression in some cases is labeled “offensive” so if the person is not raised on the culture of listening to others with an open mind, it can lead to problems. This of course applies to the larger society, which in some cases is an excuse for the government to control unpopular opinions or free speech. However, the question is, how does a society or individuals reach a healthy balance? Is it utopic?
An article titled The Three Arguments in Support of Free Speech sums up the advantages and disadvantages of allowing unpopular opinions as follows:
Reason 1: The Pursuit of Knowledge Requires the Competition of Multiple Perspectives
Reason 2: Silencing Offensive Speech Can Unintentionally Give More Attention to the Speaker
Reason 3: Free Speech is Necessary for Self-Government
A personal opinion of mine is: labeling opinions as popular and unpopular is problematic in it’s nature. It allows place for more polarization and conflict rather than keeping the floor for what is just an “opinion”.
Case Break Down of Some Unpopular and Popular opinions
In a small poll I’ve shared on my Instagram account, I asked my followers if they were pro death penalty or against it, I asked them to clarify their reasoning behind each vote. Below are the results of the poll,
Out of 87 voters, 58 people or a 67% voted with death penalties in cases such as Rape and Murder, with an explanation that “horrendous” crimes deserve to be punished this way. While 29 people or around 33% voted against it. Let’s look at some answers quickly.
Those who voted “with” clearly stated they’re “with” only in these cases, that would mean that even though the popular opinion appears to be “with”, it’s mostly “with” in cases of rape and murder, which would mean another majority opinion would be “against it in all other criminal cases”. So sometimes the angle you look at in an opinion is what gives it more or less popularity, which again goes back to the same point that opinions shouldn’t be labeled.
In conclusion, it’s quite tricky to label an opinion as unpopular, if labeled, it will serve some political purpose, which might eventually lead to more polarization. So what’s the recipe to an unpopular opinion? There is not I would say, it’s a matter of perception and can be named unpopular for a most likely underlying political reason.
References
Access Now, UIC John Marshall Law School International Human Rights Clinic, MedGlobal, & Syrian Justice & Accountability Centre. (2021, March). Digital dominion: new report exposes the depth of Syrian regime’s mass surveillance – Access Now. Access Now. https://www.accessnow.org/press-release/digital-dominion-syrian-regime-mass-surveillance/
Aleksanyan, S. (n.d.). 5 Problems with voicing an “Unpopular opinion” in modern society. www.linkedin.com. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-problems-voicing-unpopular-opinion-modern-society-aleksanyan
European Liberties Platform. (2021, June 10). What is Self-Censorship? How does it kill media freedom? Liberties.eu. https://www.liberties.eu/en/stories/self-censorship/43569
Ockenfels, M. (2021, December 12). Popularity of unpopular opinions – Mathias Ockenfels – Medium. Medium. https://medium.com/@ockenrock/popularity-of-unpopular-opinions-32ae7f38e464
Page citations and linking. (n.d.). TheFreeDictionary.com. https://www.freethesaurus.com/_/cite.aspx?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.freethesaurus.com%2Fpopular%2Bopinion&word=popular%20opinion&sources=wn
Petersen, T. (2016, September 6). Spiral of silence | Social Psychology, Communication & Group Dynamics. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/spiral-of-silence
popular opinion. (n.d.). TheFreeDictionary.com. https://www.freethesaurus.com/popular+opinion
Roth, P. L., Thatcher, J. B., Bobko, P., Matthews, K., Ellingson, J. E., & Goldberg, C. B. (2020). Political affiliation and employment screening decisions: The role of similarity and identification processes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(5), 472–486. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000422
The three arguments in support of free speech. (n.d.). The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/three-arguments-support-free-speech
Törnberg, P. (2022). How digital media drive affective polarization through partisan sorting. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119(42). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2207159119