WEAPONIZING MEMES: Misinformation and Disinformation
By Tessa McDougall
The casual format, the use of humour, references to pop culture—all of these qualities contribute to the viral spread of memes, but these same attributes also create breeding grounds for harmful and dangerous ideas and ideologies.
the dark side of the meme
The ubiquity of internet memes has coincided with their use as tools for spreading misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, conspiracy theories, bigotry, and ideologies of hate. Courtenay discusses the multitude of ways in which memes are disseminated, while Anneliese notes the way that memes contribute to creating and reinforcing community. The inherent shareability of memes and their ability to build collective identity are significant factors in how successful memes are at radicalizing unsuspecting internet users.
The casual and ephemeral nature of memes helps to make racist, xenophobic, and anti-Semitic messages more palatable to outsiders because they are presented as jokes, irony, or alongside imagery from pop culture. In fact, many outsiders may not understand the full context of a meme with hateful origins or which includes symbols or imagery from the far-right.
Author and researcher Molly Sauter says that the “first risk you run [when sharing memes] is inadvertently endorsing or promoting an image with a subcultural meaning that you wouldn’t endorse if you know it was there.” When encountering memes with unknown origins, Sauter advises internet users to consider if they are familiar enough with the related subcultures to understand what the materials (memes or other information) actually mean.
Misinformation and Disinformation
What kind of harmful information is shared via memes? We can generally sort them into two categories: misinformation and disinformation.
Merriam-Webster defines misinformation as incorrect or misleading information, which is typically unintentionally incorrect. Meanwhile, disinformation is false information that is deliberately shared to influence opinions about a topic.
Claire Wardle proposes that there are 7 types of mis- and disinformation (as illustrated in this section’s graphic) which exist on a scale from parody to fabricated content. While satire or parody does not necessarily intend to cause harm, there are risks associated with sharing memes that use this form of cultural critique, like a viewer of the meme not being ‘in’ on the joke and believing it to be truthful information. Furthermore, hateful or polarizing content is often labelled as satire to justify its existence and absolve creators and sharers of accountability. Just to be clear, bigotry and hate created under the guise of humour is still bigotry and hate.
AN Entry Point To Extremism
Online far-right communities consisting of white supremacists, neo-nazis, men’s rights organizers, conspiracy theorists, and other extremists have become experts in using polarizing memes to recruit members to their groups. Rita Katz, executive director of SITE Intelligence Group, proposes that it is the culture of the far-right (and not simply the ideology) that brings people together online through hate. With their own distinctive language, media, and gathering spaces, far-right groups use camaraderie and a sense of belonging to lure in lonely, depressed, and chronically ill internet users. This is not to say that members of these spaces do not believe in the ideologies of the far-right, but rather, far-right groups contain people with wildly varying and sometimes contradictory ideologies.
So, where do the memes come in? Far-right organizers on the internet draw in people (especially those from younger generations) using humour, pop culture references, and irony in meme format. Over time, users drawn into far-right spaces by entertainment and community are radicalized as extremist and intolerant viewpoints become normalized.
Identifying Tactics Of The FAR-Right
Becoming familiar with the tactics of the far-right can help you to identify memes created by far-right communities and to protect yourself from potential radicalization. Burnham et al. suggest that hateful ideas become more socially acceptable and spread further when they are shared on mainstream platforms. By recognizing even the most subtle references to far-right ideologies (often represented by specific terminology or symbols), we can help prevent the spread and normalization of hateful rhetoric.
Burnham et al. identify several tactics used by the far-right to gain attention:
- The use of covert or “cloaked” languages
- The use of humour and irony to hide hateful messages
- White victimhood narratives that portray white people as oppressed due to their race
- The creation and dissemination of conspiracy theories to create a common enemy for people to rally around
- Polarizing, divisive, and offensive content meant to provoke attention, either positive or negative. Members of the online far-right understand that any engagement is good engagement. Critique and news reports further spread the memes and associated ideologies into the mainstream
final thoughts: Stay educated & Refuse to engage
Being aware of conspiracy theories, racist and anti-Semitic dog whistles, and other tactics of the far-right is important to help you identify hateful content in the wild, especially when information moves quickly and innocent content is co-opted for nefarious purposes.
What should you do if you encounter hateful memes in the wild? Report, block, and move along, recommends disinformation researcher Abbie Richards, who went viral on TikTok in 2021 for her conspiracy theory chart. Check out a compilation of her viral videos below.
For a list of sources, please view our references list.
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