Who can actually remember the internet before memes? I certainly can’t. They represent the sort of cynical humour that has become synonymous with internet users who have names that are just a jumble of letters and numbers. But if you look deep enough into the web, these internet jokes can become much darker.
There have been several recent controversies concerning memes being adapted to spread misogynistic, racist and anti-Semitic messages. In July, a meme surfaced featuring Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones’ face edited onto the body of Harambe, the gorilla killed at Cincinnati Zoo. Just this week, Pepe the Frog has been ruled as a 'sinister' hate symbol after the proliferation of his racist and anti-Semitic adaptations. Moreover, an article published on Hilary Clinton’s campaign website directly related the Pepe meme with white nationalism and Donald Trump.
Although for some time now Pepe the Frog has been recognised as being a favourite of online hate group members, it seems that the message didn’t get to Donald Trump. Or perhaps, even more worryingly, it did. In October 2015, Trump re-tweeted a cartoon of Pepe at the presidential podium with distinctly Trump-esque hair. Just two weeks ago, Donald Trump Jr. posted an image of his father flanked by sidekicks including Pepe the Frog.
The article on Hilary Clinton’s website claims that ‘in recent months, Pepe’s been almost entirely co-opted by the white supremacists who call themselves the ‘alt-right.’ They’ve decided to take back Pepe by adding swastikas and other symbols of anti-semitism and white supremacy’.
The Pepe the Frog memes began as innocent internet jokes, but the fact that memes are so easily adopted to spread messages of hate says much about the new ways hate groups are spreading their message. It’s not inconceivable to believe that sharing hate messages in this ‘humorous’ format give their creators an appeal to the internet-savvy generation, who might often feel detached and neglected by mainstream news outlets. And the fact that it might influence their opinions and perspectives is very scary indeed.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.