When Euthanasia Goes Viral: Death and Multispecies Work in the Shadow of the Platform Economy

Abstract

This article examines how the emotional, immaterial work of animals becomes part of human creative and entrepreneurial labor on digital platforms – spaces where the line between sharing daily life and exploiting it to generate content increasingly blurs. It discusses how cuteness, as a performative aesthetic designed to highlight the animal’s sweetness and perceived vulnerability, hides its active role in boosting views, user engagement, and social interactions. Between the genuine desire to share and the pursuit of trending content, even the animal’s death is also caught up in these dynamics. To illustrate how digital culture relies on multispecies forms of labor in digital spaces, this article presents the case of an Italian female veterinarian recording the euthanasia of her own dog, which goes viral on Instagram and sparks negative comments and disapproval, revealing a complex web of contradictions. The precariousness of the veterinary profession is also analysed, emphasizing how sharing medical knowledge is intertwined with strategies of self-branding and gendered labor; meanwhile, the animal’s emotional, immaterial work is overshadowed, and its death commodified as a tool for engagement. Ultimately, the article suggests that an animal’s death does not interrupt the creation of value but instead becomes a key component in a system that spectacularizes multispecies intimacy.