2021
Cairn
André Gunthert, « Public violence: : Viral images give the alert », Questions de communication, ID : 10670/1.a373af...
This article continues the debate that was opened in the 34th issue of Questions de communication (2018), on the visibility of anonymous people and the conversational images that colonize public space. With the gilets jaunes crisis in France, the issue of police violence has been established as a major example of a counter-narrative, mainly relying on the online circulation of viral images. This article analyzes the conditions for the emergence in public debate of a minority narrative thanks to digital media. Apart from activist communication, faced with powerful denial mechanisms, an autonomous alert process has been established based on the credibility of the documentary format, the argumentative dynamic of the online conversation, and the mobilization of an aesthetic of mercy.