Bakgrund och syfte: Sociala mediers framväxt har lett till uppkomsten av en ny yrkesgrupp kallad influencer. Detta yrke innebär en betydande uppmärksamhet och ett visst ansvar gentemot både sin publik och samhället. För att undvika att skada förtroendet och riskera negativa konsekvenser för sin karriär är det viktigt att agera med eftertanke och vara medveten om konsekvenserna av ens handlingar och uttryck. Denna studie fokuserar på influencern Margaux Dietz, som hamnade i en kontrovers efter att ha publicerat en YouTube-video där hon filmar och dehumaniserar en medvetslös man. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur en offentlig person använder kriskommunikation för att återupprätta sitt anseende efter en kris. Metod: Studien använder sig av en kvalitativ metod i form av en innehålls- och textanalys, samt de retoriska appellerna ethos, pathos och logos och den retoriska teorin/metoden apologia. Detta är för att undersöka hur hon försöker återupprätta sitt anseende med hjälp av retoriska strategier. Primärdatan består av en dokumentär, en YouTube-video och ett Instagram-inlägg. Resultat och Slutsats: Utifrån innehållsanalysen framgår det att de retoriska argumenten ethos, pathos, och logos är ofta förekommande i hennes argumentation. Samtidigt som hon delvis uppfyller kraven för en idealisk apologia genom dess strategier. Studien visar att Dietz använder sig frekvent av retoriska argumenteringar för att framföra ett meddelande som kan återställa hennes anseende. Däremot tyder studien på att hennes försök till att återupprätta sitt anseende inte lyckats utifrån de strategier hon har använt, eftersom det förekommer för många motsägelser som dementerar hennes ansats. / Background and Purpose: The emergence of social media has led to the rise of a new profession called influencers. This profession entails significant attention and a certain responsibility towards both their audience and society. To avoid damaging trust and risking negative consequences for their career, it is important to act thoughtfully and be aware of the consequences of one's actions and expressions. This study focuses on the influencer Margaux Dietz, who found herself in controversy after posting a YouTube video where she films and dehumanizes an unconscious man. The purpose of the study is to examine how a public figure uses crisis communication to restore their reputation after a crisis. Method: The study employs a qualitative method in the form of content and text analysis, as well as the rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos, and the rhetorical theory/method of apologia. This is done to investigate how she attempts to restore her reputation using rhetorical strategies. The primary data consists of a documentary, a YouTube video, and an Instagram post. Results and Conclusion: Based on the content analysis, it is evident that the rhetorical arguments of ethos, pathos, and logos are frequently employed in her arguments. At the same time, she partially meets the requirements of an ideal apologia through its strategies. The study demonstrates that Dietz frequently uses rhetorical arguments to convey a message that can restore her reputation. However, the study suggests that her attempts to restore her reputation have not been successful based on the strategies she has employed, as there are too many contradictions that contradict her approach.

This thesis aims to investigate Swedish PR practitioners’ assessments of and proposed response strategies to the cancellation case of Swedish social media influencer Margaux Dietz. Multiple organisations cancelled their collaborations with Dietz in November 2022 following a criticized video scandal. Furthermore, the thesis aims to examine Swedish PR practitioners’ reasoning of risk in their work with influencer marketing, considering a present “cancel culture”. Two research questions are posed: RQ1: How do Swedish PR practitioners reflect on the cancellation of Swedish social media influencer Margaux Dietz in November 2022, and how would they have handled the situation? RQ2: In what ways do Swedish PR practitioners reflect on the risks of working with influencer marketing in relation to cancel culture? With a sample of nine participants, semi structured interviews were conducted with PR practitioners active in Stockholm, Sweden. The interviews were first analysed through a qualitative content analysis, and thereafter a theoretical framework, consisting of the notion cancel culture as defined by Clark (2020) and Ng (2020), as well as Benoit’s (2015) Image Repair Theory, was applied. Findings suggested that there were five themes present in the interviewees’ responses, (1) Risks of Influencer Marketing, (2) Cancel Culture as Positive, (3) Cancel Culture as Negative, (4) Managing Being Cancelled and (5) Uncertainty. The main conclusions indicated that there was a general uncertainty in practitioners concerning their opinions of the Dietz case. Interviewees both expressed an understanding for and questioned the organisations’ actions in the case, however most would consider cancelling collaborations during similar circumstances themselves due to a need to protect their brands. There was a common reasoning that cancel culture could be limiting and even harmful, and interviewees perceived risks in their work with influencer marketing relating to a loss of control, the human factor and cancel culture.

Studiens syfte är att undersöka vilka diskurser som representeras i dokumentärfilmen "Kan vi förlåta Margaux?” producerad av public service företaget SVT. Vidare undersöks den kritik som diverse nyhetsartiklar har presenterat i samband med dokumentärfilmens publicering. Kritiken som framförs innehåller bland annat uttalanden som berör public service-uppdrag i det svenska samhället och att innehållsvillkor som riktas mot filmproduktionen ej uppfylls. Ovanstående har analyserats och jämförts med innehållsvillkoren som regeringen ställt upp för public service. Studiens empiriska material består av dokumentärfilmen "Kan vi förlåta Margaux?", utvalda nyhetsartiklar som innehåller respons på filmen samt regeringens innehållsvillkor för public service. Metoden som studien använde är Norman Faircloughs tredimensionella modell som har sin grund i den kritiska diskursanalysen. Studiens teoretiska ramverk utgjordes av både teoretiska analysbegrepp från den tredimensionella modellen samt Westerståhls objektivitetsmodell. Resultaten visar vilka teman responsen till dokumentärfilmen berör samt de diskurser som representeras i dokumentärfilmen. Analysen av diskurserna visade bland annat att dokumentärfilmen förhåller sig till de krav och riktlinjer som public service ska följa då de diskurser som dokumentärfilmen skildrar är i linje med de krav om saklighet och opartiskhet som SVT har att förhålla sig till.

The norm shift in mediated scandals A comparative study of how the norm-breaking acts behind a mediated scandal have changed from the 1990s to the 2020s. This study aims to discover how the normbreaking actions described in mediated scandals have changed from the 1990´s to the 2020´s, whilst also analyzing how actors with different attributes, man or woman, are being portrayed in the mediated scandals. The topic was chosen due to the lack of research made on tabloid-articles in the field of mediated scandals. Previous research focuses primarily on scandals including political actors. A fact that this study aims to change. The study uses a theoretical framework of sociological theories by Durkheim and Douglas, which provides the tools nececcary to analyze social norms. The analysis is strengthened by a complementary theory by Lull & Himerman, involving criteria for mediated scandals. These criteria assisted in the selection process of empiricism and in the analysis. The twelve articles, based on four cases composed of two actors, one woman and one man, have been analyzed with an adjusted version of Camilla Gervides critical discourse analysis. The results shows that the journalists' role in mediated scandals have changed since the 1990´s. From sharing their own opinions then, to using experts to exemplify normbreaking behavior today. Beyond that there's also a wide gap between genderdepictons in the material. Women are treated more harshly and are defined as prime examples of bad social movements. Whilst the men, who share many attributes with the women, are treated with a professional distance. These depictions risk creating norms which put unfair expectations on women.

This study has examined how the celebrities Paolo Roberto and Margaux Dietz were portrayed in the Swedish newspapers Aftonbladet and Expressen in connection with their scandals in 2020 and 2022. The purpose of the study is to investigate whether there are gender stereotypes in the way Roberto and Dietz are portrayed in newspapers, and to see what similarities and differences can be observed in the representation of the celebrities in text and image. The theoretical framework of the study is based on framing, theories of gender, theories about scandals and media logic. The method used in the study is a quantitative content analysis. The results show that Dietz was portrayed in a more negative way than Roberto, who was portrayed more neutral. The results also showed that Roberto was primarily discussed from a professional perspective, while Dietz was more often discussed from a private perspective. When the celebrities were represented in images, the results showed that Dietz was more frequently shown smiling and looking into the camera. Based on the results, we can conclude that Roberto and Dietz are portrayed differently in the reporting of their scandals in newspapers, both in text and image. We see that these gender stereotypes that have emerged in previous research largely agree with this study. Through a gender perspective, many of the differences can be linked to the gender stereotypes and structures of masculinity and femininity that have long existed in our society.