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Fans as activists using Cristiano Ronaldo on TikTok to support a civic fandom.
COMM 3P18 (Seminar 1) Final Paper.
Student Name: Ahmad Aleian.
Student ID: 6298368
TA: Suze.
I will be delving into how Cristiano Ronaldo’s support for Palestine is being perceived by his audience. Specifically, exploring how fans engage with Cristiano on TikTok in response to his posts representing the people of Palestine since October 07, 2023. Fans are actively participating as produsers, taking a stance, and supporting Palestine by remixing videos, actively engaging not only as passive consumers but also as content creators by expressing solidarity with Palestine and tagging Ronaldo, they demonstrate their shared interests and support. I have chosen this topic because it is newsworthy and sheds light on how Cristiano’s fans navigate between civic fandom and celebrity fandom based on consumer reactions upholding support for Palestine. The war in the Middle East started on October 07, 2023, following an invasion by Hamas, resulting in severe damage as Israel and its military allies retaliated. This conflict has tragically cost the lives of Palestinian civilians, forcing many to flee their homes. Cristiano Ronaldo, a prominent player in the Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr, holds significant influence with 614 million followers. Consequently, his audience engages by resharing critical events on platforms like TikTok, using the hashtag Cristiano to reach a wider audience. Therefore, audiences and fans perceive and utilize Cristiano Ronaldo as a symbol for aligning their support by being activists for Palestine with ties to civic fandom. Suggesting how fans interpret Ronaldo’s actions as an endorsement of their cause, linking personal interests to a broader geopolitical conflict. By analyzing fan engagement with Ronaldo’s posts regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict, this paper seeks to understand how a celebrity’s stance can affect fan perception and activism on social platforms. Fans are creating a sense of community by being produsers creating new meanings from pre-existing videos of Cristiano before the conflict started, by making edits to the flags and commentary off Cristiano’s original videos. Most of the audience for these TikTok remixes are Pro-Palestine and support Ronaldo’s stance. However, there is a smaller portion of pro-Israeli which contradict the remixes on TikTok.
Upon reviewing TikTok content, a noticeable trend emerges from numerous videos under hashtags like #CR7, #CristianoRonaldo, #CR7Palestine. These videos connect Cristiano Ronaldo as a devoted advocate for Palestine, openly discouraging support for Israel’s military policies. Since joining Al-Nassr, a team owned by Saudi Arabia, Cristiano has garnered unprecedented support from people across the Middle East, amplifying his audience and fan base. Users leverage Cristiano’s image to align with their stance on the Middle East conflict by choosing to be produsers rather than to only c