EPISODE

The Fandom Machine: When Obsession Turns Ugly

HEARSAY CULTURE RADIO

Episode 310

July 25, 2025

00:59:37

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Hosted by Dave Levine

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

Dave Levine’s latest Hearsay Culture episode dives deep into the dark side of fan culture with Professor Mel Stanfill, author of 2024’s Fandom Is Ugly: Networked Harassment and Participatory Culture. Stanfill reveals how online fan communities, often dismissed as harmless, can fuel toxic harassment, exclusion, and disinformation—blurring the line between passion and mob behavior. The conversation connects these dynamics to real-world flashpoints like Gamergate, January 6th, and the critical race theory manufactured panic, showing how “fandom logic” now drives political and cultural conflicts. With sharp insights on power, identity, and the speed of online networks, this interview makes clear why then dark implications of fandom demand much deeper, nuanced scrutiny.

“So there’s this sense of well, we are put upon by the mainstream that makes fun of us, by the media industry that doesn’t take us seriously. So that we are the little guy and we are punching up. And so because people all sort of start from that assumption, it becomes much harder to see the ways that they can also do harm.” — Mel Stanfill

“Passion is the mob of the man, that commits a riot upon his reason.” — William Penn

Lead Photo by Dmytro Koplyk on Unsplash

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The Fandom Machine: When Obsession Turns Ugly

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ABOUT THE GUEST

Mel Stanfill

University of Central Florida Associate Professor Mel Stanfill researches how individuals interact with various media forms, ranging from television to social platforms. Their work explores the intersections of technology, identity, law and economics in shaping cultural access and interpretation. Their prior work, Rock This Way: Cultural Constructions of Musical Legitimacy (University of Michigan Press, 2023), explores the ethical and legal dimensions of music reuse. Stanfill also analyzes online harassment dynamics, including in communities like comic fans and fan fiction writers. Their research extends to the governance of social media platforms and user responses. Stanfill has provided expert commentary to outlets such as Wired UK, Teen Vogue and the Daily Dot. They joined Hearsay Culture in October 2024.

HOST BIO

DAVID LEVINE

Dave Levine is the founder and host of Hearsay Culture. He is a Professor at Elon University School of Law and an Affiliate Scholar at the Center for Internet and Society (Stanford Law School). From 2014-2017, he was a Visiting Research Collaborator at Princeton University’s Center for Information Technology Policy. He is also the co-author of Information Law, Governance, and Cybersecurity (West 2019). A regular contributor to Slate, Dave has been published in leading newspapers, websites, and academic journals in the US and EU.

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