Do you acknowledge a meme if you see one?
On-line disinformation skilled Joan Donovan defines memes as pithy phrases or photos — like “Black Lives Matter” or “Construct That Wall” — that include a coded which means. They typically work as badges of identification, and they are often highly effective shortcuts to frightening an emotional response within the viewer. And because of the web, they’re extra influential than ever.
Her new guide, “Meme Wars,” particulars how memes and the web communities that produce them intensify the tradition wars, erode belief in establishments, and even drive acts of violence, just like the Jan. 6, 2021 rebel on the U.S. Capitol.
On the anniversary of that assault, MPR Information host Kerri Miller talks with Donovan concerning the historical past of memes in America, how varied conspiracy theorists use them to advance their ideologies, and the way the present energy of memes threatens to undermine democracy.
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