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Some see the benefit in this shift. In the same Pew survey, of over 10,000 people, more than half approved of calling out people for their behavior on social media, saying it helps hold people accountable. “People look closer at their actions, forcing them to examine what they are doing, why they are doing it, and what are the consequences of said actions,” said one of the people surveyed.

Ms. Ball remains hopeful that things will change. “The reactionary culture is damaging and unhelpful and just really brutal for everybody involved,” she said. “A lot of our society wants to see ourselves as believing in forgiveness, believing in redemption, believing in the ability of people to learn and grow and get better.”

She pointed to the backlash against Ms. Wilder’s firing; dozens of staff members wrote an open letter to The A.P. expressing dismay.

“The less successful it is, the less that it works,” she said, “the less interest in it people are ultimately going to have.”

After a pause though, she added: “A lot of that comes down to how corporate H.R. departments handle themselves, which is not a great place to place your hopes.”

For Ms. Ball herself, the unearthing of her party pics, and resulting “scandal,” ultimately provided a professional boost. Cable news programs invited her on air to talk about it, and then, impressed at her performance, invited her back to comment on other political happenings, leading to her current role.

“I was very fortunate,” she said. “The only reason I ended up with a career in media was because of this attempted, like, cancellation.”