Social media and their effects on society have come under increased scrutiny and have merited increasingly divergent evaluations. They are usually seen either as natural promoters of emancipation and democracy or as tools for manipulation, oppression, and disempowerment. This introductory article seeks to develop a balanced account of social media and their effects, and presents a case for rethinking the architecture of today’s environment of information. It then concludes with an overview of the articles in this special issue.

Despite often being lauded as a crucial tool for democratisation, social media can just as easily harbour more negative intentions, including stigmatisation and exclusion of certain groups. Part of the explanation lies in the nature of social media and the way information circulates there. However, this leaves the crucial question of motivation unanswered: why do individuals engage in negative deeds online and why are the narratives of otherness-qua-menace particularly attractive? For this reason, the article employs Lacanian psychoanalysis to delve into the drives that make the Other a crucial benchmark. It is, therefore, claimed that there are crucial synergies to be teased out from simultaneous use of social media analysis and psychoanalysis.