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Meme Magic: How stupid pictures of badly drawn frogs influenced the 2016 election
The election for the most powerful person on the planet was determined, in part, by memes.
The 2016 presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton was the first time both candidates embraced the new media of the internet. The dinosaurs that were the mainstream media found themselves powerless to control the narratives against relentless social media pressures.
Yes, those poor quality images that get shared on social media were essential in shaping the future of the world. Don’t believe me? Hillary Clinton herself tried to discredit Pepe, a simple meme.
This is Pepe. He’s the star of the book. Hillary Clinton directly called Pepe a hate symbol. Does he look hateful to you?
Long, boring statements on policy positions don’t get Liked or shared by millions of people. Memes do. And these memes can spread an idea faster than traditional media. By the time an idea appears on television that evening, the story is already old news in the social space. Newspapers reporting on an event a day or two later look as quaint as a horse and buggy next to a Tesla.
Memes are fun, but they can also be propaganda. Seeing a patriotic Donald with the words Make America Great Again can influence decisions just through sheer repetition. Memes can amplify or introduce ideas to millions of people in a short time.
Memes can also spread the latest scandals much faster than traditional media. The power of memes is that they can be consumed, felt, and shared within a few seconds. Note that Liking a tweet or post will also share it! In comparison, a traditional TV newscast needs several hours of lead-in time. In 2016, we saw the mainstream media react to news cycles started by social media rather than the reverse. The majority of people now get their news from Facebook or Twitter. And that means anyone can be a journalist. Memes are the new Breaking News update.
The trick of spreading memes is that they contain emotion. They can be funny, sad, infuriating, or whatever, but memes that catch on with population are almost always emotional. And Donald Trump is a meme machine. It doesn’t matter if you love or hate you will spread his message because he makes you feel. This is why the election was one of the most contentious elections in recent memory. Emotions ran high on all sides.
Finally, this book details the bizarre events that you probably didn’t hear about. Hillary Clinton declared war on a cartoon frog. Google, Facebook, and Twitter all modified their platforms to push votes for a candidate. Ted Cruz became the Zodiac Killer. The FBI made a Trump meme. And, of course, Donald Trump was Donald Trump.
The 2016 presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton was the first time both candidates embraced the new media of the internet. The dinosaurs that were the mainstream media found themselves powerless to control the narratives against relentless social media pressures.
Yes, those poor quality images that get shared on social media were essential in shaping the future of the world. Don’t believe me? Hillary Clinton herself tried to discredit Pepe, a simple meme.
This is Pepe. He’s the star of the book. Hillary Clinton directly called Pepe a hate symbol. Does he look hateful to you?
Long, boring statements on policy positions don’t get Liked or shared by millions of people. Memes do. And these memes can spread an idea faster than traditional media. By the time an idea appears on television that evening, the story is already old news in the social space. Newspapers reporting on an event a day or two later look as quaint as a horse and buggy next to a Tesla.
Memes are fun, but they can also be propaganda. Seeing a patriotic Donald with the words Make America Great Again can influence decisions just through sheer repetition. Memes can amplify or introduce ideas to millions of people in a short time.
Memes can also spread the latest scandals much faster than traditional media. The power of memes is that they can be consumed, felt, and shared within a few seconds. Note that Liking a tweet or post will also share it! In comparison, a traditional TV newscast needs several hours of lead-in time. In 2016, we saw the mainstream media react to news cycles started by social media rather than the reverse. The majority of people now get their news from Facebook or Twitter. And that means anyone can be a journalist. Memes are the new Breaking News update.
The trick of spreading memes is that they contain emotion. They can be funny, sad, infuriating, or whatever, but memes that catch on with population are almost always emotional. And Donald Trump is a meme machine. It doesn’t matter if you love or hate you will spread his message because he makes you feel. This is why the election was one of the most contentious elections in recent memory. Emotions ran high on all sides.
Finally, this book details the bizarre events that you probably didn’t hear about. Hillary Clinton declared war on a cartoon frog. Google, Facebook, and Twitter all modified their platforms to push votes for a candidate. Ted Cruz became the Zodiac Killer. The FBI made a Trump meme. And, of course, Donald Trump was Donald Trump.
264 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 3, 2017
14 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 4, 2017
Easy and fun read with generous doses of memes spread throughout like a fine sauce. Putting this book down before finishing it could be very painful for you.
Also, "barcode incompatible" error occurs except similar barcode types from other books will read. This is clear oppression of the Kekistani people. #Freekekistan #LetmypeopleREEE .
Also, "barcode incompatible" error occurs except similar barcode types from other books will read. This is clear oppression of the Kekistani people. #Freekekistan #LetmypeopleREEE .
Displaying 1 of 1 review