Anyone who browses the internet has come across a meme at one time or another. Memes have become a basic part of the online world we live in. Dating back to 1976 and Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene, in which a meme was compared to a gene. “Like a gene, memes can self-replicate and mutate as they carry cultural ideas and information. And like in evolution, the “best” memes are those that are replicated and spread”. In today’s society memes have become more than just funny moments from TV shows in which people edit captions over, but now memes have entered the political world as well. Many of these memes are so believable and are allowing the spread of misinformation and false narratives. But memes can also do the opposite, they can “help promote a collective identity and sense of community necessary for mobilizing people not just online, but also offline” (Harlow), like during the Arab springs in 2011, when a meme posted on Facebook not only spread to neighboring countries but also to mainstream media, which evoked a social movement all over Egypt. So, are memes a downfall or the start to a new way of telling our narratives?
These small expressions created through memes have now become a part of politics. “Memes are the People’s editorial cartoons” according to Political Memes. In the past, the traditional news was able to summarize a political debate in one illustration. Now anyone from a 13-year-old to ?? can make their own editorial cartoon through a meme. Memes are condensed expressions, “just add water and they become something bigger”. The memes people are creating in politics are often for political blows to one’s opponent. Not only do our political leaders have to deal with memes being created about them but they have also learned how to create them as well. President Trump’s term has been known for being a part of the twitter era, with Trump posting multiple memes on his media platforms. The president will send memes whether it was true or not, but if it looks interesting. But he is not the only one looking at the media this way, many young teenagers are doing this as well. They post ideas on their social media that they find interesting or intriguing and watch to see if their followers decide if it is precise or not. Memes can be questionable or misleading but they can also be a glance into society.
A study done by Summer Harlow looked into the effect that Facebook and memes had on the Egyptian protests back in 2011 or as many people know it as Arab Springs. Because of videos and content sent through social media platforms such as Facebook, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians took over Cairo square in retaliation to their government. Once the first video spread, neighboring countries joined in retaliation in their own cities, before making it to the mainstream media. According to the study “Facebook Revolution”: Exploring the meme-like spread of narratives during the Egyptian protests, considers “how online narratives might be influencing activism, as the narratives that spread meme-like via social media and traditional media during the Egyptian uprisings helped tell the story of a Facebook revolution, and that meme arguably helped prompt mobilization.” These meme- like posts created a “we” that attracted people to be a part of it.
We might become interested in a topic for the first time through a meme but that’s just the start to a bigger discussion. Memes can communicate things to young people that are vital and make them want to learn more about that topic. In today’s world young people desire to be a part of different movements, sometimes started by memes.
