Theo Wargo / Getty Images for VH1 Trailblazer

by Torraine Walker

In the wake of the alleged attack on Empire cast member Jussie Smollett, mainstream and social media were flooded with messages from politicians, activists, and Black Hollywood offering Smollett support and condemning what appeared to be a hate crime against a gay Black man. It’s two weeks later, and new twists in the story seem to emerge every hour. First the attack was blamed on two white men in MAGA hats. Then the assailants were described as two Black men, resulting in the arrest of two Nigerian brothers who were later released.

There is now suspicion that Jussie Smollett may have orchestrated the attack himself. On Wednesday, the Cook County State Attorney’s office approved felony disorderly conduct charges against Smollett for allegedly filing a false report with the Chicago Police. The public support narrative has shifted away from Smollett, to statements about how hate crimes go under-reported or victims of hate crimes are barely believed. Ironically, waiting for all the facts has become a prominent feature that wasn’t part of the first reactions.

On social media, opinions began to form around two points of view: that Trump supporters are violent racists, and Black men in general were to blame for Jussie being attacked. The narrative about Black men is usually confined to Twitter but it’s beginning to bleed over to other platforms.

Vibe Magazine was first out the gate, publishing an op-ed claiming the silence of straight Black men contributed to Smollett’s attack. BET followed with a similar thinkpiece. What followed that were rants about the toxicity of Black men from prominent people, some of whom later deleted their comments, but the propaganda had done its work.

Social media analysts say there’s no magic formula to going viral but there are certain subjects guaranteed to get you attention. One is sex, the other is slander. Slanderous attacks on celebrities in hopes that one will respond are good, but the best option is slander of Black men. Cishet Black men in particular. At least once a week a tweet goes viral claiming Black men hate Black women or are toxic in some way, and thousands of people agree.

It’s the same sort of outrage marketing that fashion brands are accused of doing, but with far more serious potential consequences. Since America was created, Black males have represented a boogeyman, a scapegoat for a country founded on white supremacy to project it’s fears and hypocrisy onto. From a white supremacist point of view, it’s a brilliant tactic, but Black men paid and continue to pay the cost of that demonization with marginalization, prison, and violent death.

There’s two other factors at play in this drama. In the wake of the Black social justice movements ignited in the wake of the deaths of Trayvon Martin and Mike Brown, “Wokeness”-the philosophy of being aware of injustice-is a hot political and social commodity. It can be monetized and leveraged for political gain. It’s a vital part of political activist brand creation. And it requires being seen to care about every issue important to marginalized people.

There’s also intense pressure on media orgs to fill the news cycle. And getting the story right takes a distant second place to getting the story out first. Ratings means revenue, and celebrity stories serve the same purpose for news orgs that slander serves for people looking for clout on social media.

Coupled with the start of an election cycle that politicians and opportunists are eager to exploit, Smollett’s story provided the perfect opportunity for people obsessed with appearing “woke” in the public eye to create a loop of righteous posturing that a ratings obsessed media was willing to amplify. That’s not to say there aren’t people who are genuinely concerned about social injustice. Hate crimes happen, those guilty of them need to be exposed and punished. But waiting for facts before speaking is something the media and people who care about injustice should remember.

Social media outrage doesn’t lend itself to nuance. People are right to show support for hate crime victims, but false stories serve no one. The truth of Smollett’s story remains to be seen, but the reaction to it says more about us than him; who wants to be seen, who we see as victims, and who we see as villains.