יחי המלך! הסיקור התקשורתי ושיח הביטול בפרשת הזמר אייל גולן

This article seeks to explore the framing of this news and the related Facebook posts, specifically in the age of #MeToo and cancel culture in Israel and around the world.The study draws from both quantitative and qualitative analysis of 224 articles published in three of Israel’s leading news sites (Ynet, Walla and Haaretz), and 2,724 Facebook posts published between 2018 and 2021. This analysis reveals that only a small fraction of the news articles dealt with the criminal charges against Golan. Instead, media initiated a new narrative focused on the singer’s status in the court of public opinion. The study also indicates that most of the social media posts dealing with these criminal charges were written by Golan’s fans.Due to both mainstream media and social channels like Facebook, the public legal discourse on the failure of Israel’s criminal justice system to prosecute Golan rendered itself superficial and boorish. The study found that because the complainants are anonymous and come from low socioeconomic circles, they gained neither sympathy nor support from journalists and the public. In addition, Golan’s media advisers succeeded in framing the popstar as a victim of both social discrimination and a difficult family background. Thus, it appears that the social cleavages that permeate Israeli society assuage the social impact of trial by media and cancel culture..