The court of social media opinion: Examining how Twitter users respond to the retrial of footballer Ched Evans

Media coverage of rape allegations now generates vast attention across social media. This study investigates perceptions towards a high-profile criminal trial concerning an allegation of rape against professional footballer Ched Evans. Using discourse analysis, we investigate ways in which Twitter users invoked or challenged stereotypes following the 2016 re-trial. Sixty-one tweets were analysed, revealing perceptions surrounding defendant and complainant credibility through a sports fandom lens. Discursive strategies involved perpetuation of rape mythology as a mechanism through which football fans constructed the defendant as innocent and the complainant as untrustworthy. Implications surround targeted interventions to debunk stereotypes among British football fans.