Affective Recognition and the Limits of Branded Ethics

In the context of a corporate retreat from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), this articleargues that such withdrawals are not ideological reversals but the culmination of brandedstrategies governing moral visibility. Employing sociosemiotic analysis, it develops atypology of visionary, sensitive, and reflexive branding approaches, examining how empathyis selectively framed to align with commercial objectives. Introducing the concept ofontological erasure, the study demonstrates how branded moral economies systematicallyrender certain subjects and struggles invisible or politically inert. Across media platforms,empathy shifts from ethical relationality into a marketable asset, strategically curatedaccording to affective resonance. Such selective visibility shapes public understandings ofsocial justice, determining whose suffering gains recognition and which causes becomemorally actionable. By theorizing affective recognition, the article critically reveals howbrands manage emotional engagement to sustain market legitimacy, highlighting the strategiclogic behind corporate disengagement from DEI and the consolidation of moral hierarchies.