Turning up the volume: The amplification of shame

Abstract

One important strategy human rights organizations (HROs) employ to draw attention to human rights abuses is “naming and shaming.” By calling attention to government human rights violations, HROs hope to galvanize world public opinion and increase pressure on repressive regimes to halt abuses. While some HROs, like Amnesty International, communicate directly with their large membership bases, the vast majority of HROs rely on the media to transmit their message to the international community. Issuing reports and press releases are a major part of their efforts to make the international community aware of abuses. The more media coverage an HRO’s reports and press releases receive, the more their message is “amplified.” This article first develops a theory about how certain characteristics of the HRO and its targets matter for the organization’s ability to amplify its message. The article then develops a new measure of “amplification” and uses this new measure to evaluate the factors that contribute to the amplification of HRO messages in the international media.