he events of 6 January were so shocking to most Americans’ sensibilities, that it seemed impossible to come to grips with it and how it happened. In reality, the storming of the Capitol was a long-simmering process of social alienation and online radicalization that shifted the window of what was “normal” and allowed the fringe into an increasingly unhealthy body politic. Most of the country was simply not paying attention—they were “noobz” or “normies” excluded from the online discourse. Yet, online discourse led to real radicalization and, ultimately, real mobilization.
For the authors of “Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America” (a copy of which was kindly provided by the publisher) there is not quite a direct line between the memes and their creators to the events of January 6th, but they certainly contributed to the ecosystem and echo-chamber that created space for mobilization. The events and discourse of the wired world had a demonstrable effect on the real world. The authors do present an interesting temporal narrative starting with the events of Occupy Wall Street—the short-lived effort to bring about an undefined changed in the capitalist system. It is an interesting starting point and the authors describe how the movement manifested itself online before materializing in Zuccotti Park. From there the authors explore the white supremacist and alt-right community—from “Gamergate” and 4Chan to QAnon, the election of Donald Trump, and the events of 6 January.
At its core, “Meme Wars” is an almost narrative zoological study of the ecosystem of internet trolls, “shitposters,” conspiracy theorists, grifters, white supremacists, alt-right figures, and other denizens of the toxic reaches of the World Wide Web. The authors are to be commended for their diligence in plying these waters—most of which the general public will never encounter, save when the trolls themselves emerge from the waters upon civilized shores. This is an interesting though relatively underexplored phenomenon in the book: why and how these fringe figures became normalized and the long-term consequences of that normalization.
To be sure the authors do spend a good amount of the book exploring the rise of various alt-right personalities. These figures that once would have been fringe at best gradually shifted the window of what was acceptable discourse, seizing upon events and embracing the benefits of social media. The extreme views increasingly became normalized—indeed what is considered acceptable political discourse certainly shifted before 2016, but dramatically so after Trump’s election.
Perhaps the best example of this it is the now de-platformed conspiracy theorist and supplement huckster, Alex Jones. Jones recently published a manifesto of sorts titled “The Great Reset: And the War for the World” (a copy of which was definitely not provided by the publisher). In it, Jones presents his belief (née fantasy) that the “globalists”—a dog-whistle to extremists—seeks to subvert freedom and democracy to ultimately enslave America. Borrowing extensively, but selectively, from the writings of Klaus Schwab, Zbigniew Brezinski, and Yuval Noah Harari, Jones paints a picture of “global elites” at war with the “average American,” capturing governments and seeking to control the planet through manufactured crises such as COVID-19 and climate change.
Reading Jones’ book or listening to his podcasts, you get a sense of why he has such appeal. He is an energetic and dynamic character—entertaining in a darkly curious manner. He crafts a narrative of “us” versus “them,” punctuated by breathless accounts—supported by “facts”—delivered at such speed that it is hard to follow his logic yet crafting a coherent narrative through sheer intensity. He proffers barely half-baked explanations for complex global trends affecting a large, disaffected segment of the American population. For him, and his supporters, everything is linked to a broader more insidious conspiracy against the average American. He uses the very complexity of issues to obfuscate reality and twist them into his own narrative, one that seizes upon ignorance and confusion.
At one-point Jones would have been nothing more than the “crazy uncle,” but he became normalized—finding himself no longer on the fringes, but, in the eyes of his supporters, vindicated as elements of his theories appeared to be validated. Even his conspiracy that the world is run by a cabal of wealthy and powerful pedophiles gained traction with arrest and later death of Jeffrey Epstein and the lack of associated prosecutions. For much of the country, and far too often today, the narrative “what-aboutism” and perceived (and real) failures of the “mainstream media” serve as evidence of official disinformation, acting as an excuse for civic disengagement and intellectual obtuseness.
That slow normalization has made Jones and others of his ilk increasingly part of the dialogue. Those once fringe “theories” and radical beliefs are becoming acceptable and radicalization is the new normal. Reading about it is one thing, but to see it in one’s own family is another entirely. To hear family members—at one point rational—spout what is tantamount to utter nonsense is alarming. Seeing themselves as “red pilled”—taken from the sci-fi film “The Matrix”—they descend into increasingly bizarre rabbit holes (something accelerated with algorithmic encouragement), from which no amount of logic or evidence can extract them. It would be interesting to see what the authors of “Meme Wars” thought of this creeping normalization (beyond the memes themselves) and how it came about.
One wonders what the long-term consequences are when these fringe theories are embraced by elected officials. Some members of Congress continue to question not just the legitimacy of the most recent election, but the foundations of American democracy itself. To be sure there have always been fringe groups within American politics, but there is a distinct line between questioning America’s role in the world on principle and questioning it as a result of some message-board defined conspiracy about a global cabal (which itself is often barely concealed anti-Semitism).
This is troubling for what it says about the future of America’s republic as well as what it says about the ability or willingness of politicians to address the issues which led many Americans to support MAGA in the first place. If politicians can dismiss all Trump supporters as members of a lunatic fringe or as backwards racists (though to be sure some are), what incentive will they have to address the very real issues affecting many of these communities and which motivated many to support him? One suspects that a self-reinforcing cycle of exclusion and alienation could emerge, further driving those on the edges further to the fringe, pulling those closer to the middle in with them.
The authors of “Meme Wars” rightly note the financial incentives behind many of these conspiracy peddlers. Jones is almost as much a supplement salesman as he is a polemicist. The ecosystem of grifters that sprouted up and continues to feed off of the MAGA (and QAnon) movement is legion. If fear sells, then globalist conspiracies and electoral theft are a sure way to guaranteed profit.
The future of the meme wars is unclear. The radical right’s dominance will almost certainly come to an end as the “left” becomes more adept at leveraging memes and social media. Indeed, the White House recently hired the social media manager behind the wildly popular official New Jersey account. Will machine learning, AI, deepfakes, and A/B testing supplant trolls? Perhaps not in the near-term, but one imagines that these tools will serve as an aid to the internet trolls and, more alarmingly, nation-states. Russia and China almost certainly drew lessons from the meme wars. Neither Moscow nor Beijing created the divisions within the United States, but the political warfare and propaganda of both will undoubtedly seize upon the same schisms that online actors both manufacture and exploit.
Reading “Meme Wars” and Jones’ polemic, it is hard not to be disheartened about the future of American democracy. This is not merely a challenge of creating an informed body politic or engaged citizenry, though that would surely help. Addressing the meme wars first requires recognition and appreciation of the problem and the threat it poses to American democracy—something notably missing at the moment as both the left and right are far keener to exploit this for short-term political gain. The incentives (financial and political) for peddling fringe theories are too high, and both social and traditional media are incentivized to drive extreme emotions for profit and engagement. Changing these dynamics will require herculean political effort and a whole-of-nation approach—an effort that a “Lolcat” alone won’t be able to provide, but perhaps it can help.
a global affairs media network
Through the Meme Looking Glass
Washington, DC, USA. Photo by Dineda Nyepan via Unsplash.
September 24, 2022
In his latest book review, Joshua Huminski analyzes “Meme Wars” by Joan Donovan, Emily Dreyfuss, and Brian Friedberg, which explores why and how fringe figures online became normalized and the long-term consequences of that normalization.
T
he events of 6 January were so shocking to most Americans’ sensibilities, that it seemed impossible to come to grips with it and how it happened. In reality, the storming of the Capitol was a long-simmering process of social alienation and online radicalization that shifted the window of what was “normal” and allowed the fringe into an increasingly unhealthy body politic. Most of the country was simply not paying attention—they were “noobz” or “normies” excluded from the online discourse. Yet, online discourse led to real radicalization and, ultimately, real mobilization.
For the authors of “Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America” (a copy of which was kindly provided by the publisher) there is not quite a direct line between the memes and their creators to the events of January 6th, but they certainly contributed to the ecosystem and echo-chamber that created space for mobilization. The events and discourse of the wired world had a demonstrable effect on the real world. The authors do present an interesting temporal narrative starting with the events of Occupy Wall Street—the short-lived effort to bring about an undefined changed in the capitalist system. It is an interesting starting point and the authors describe how the movement manifested itself online before materializing in Zuccotti Park. From there the authors explore the white supremacist and alt-right community—from “Gamergate” and 4Chan to QAnon, the election of Donald Trump, and the events of 6 January.
At its core, “Meme Wars” is an almost narrative zoological study of the ecosystem of internet trolls, “shitposters,” conspiracy theorists, grifters, white supremacists, alt-right figures, and other denizens of the toxic reaches of the World Wide Web. The authors are to be commended for their diligence in plying these waters—most of which the general public will never encounter, save when the trolls themselves emerge from the waters upon civilized shores. This is an interesting though relatively underexplored phenomenon in the book: why and how these fringe figures became normalized and the long-term consequences of that normalization.
To be sure the authors do spend a good amount of the book exploring the rise of various alt-right personalities. These figures that once would have been fringe at best gradually shifted the window of what was acceptable discourse, seizing upon events and embracing the benefits of social media. The extreme views increasingly became normalized—indeed what is considered acceptable political discourse certainly shifted before 2016, but dramatically so after Trump’s election.
Perhaps the best example of this it is the now de-platformed conspiracy theorist and supplement huckster, Alex Jones. Jones recently published a manifesto of sorts titled “The Great Reset: And the War for the World” (a copy of which was definitely not provided by the publisher). In it, Jones presents his belief (née fantasy) that the “globalists”—a dog-whistle to extremists—seeks to subvert freedom and democracy to ultimately enslave America. Borrowing extensively, but selectively, from the writings of Klaus Schwab, Zbigniew Brezinski, and Yuval Noah Harari, Jones paints a picture of “global elites” at war with the “average American,” capturing governments and seeking to control the planet through manufactured crises such as COVID-19 and climate change.
Reading Jones’ book or listening to his podcasts, you get a sense of why he has such appeal. He is an energetic and dynamic character—entertaining in a darkly curious manner. He crafts a narrative of “us” versus “them,” punctuated by breathless accounts—supported by “facts”—delivered at such speed that it is hard to follow his logic yet crafting a coherent narrative through sheer intensity. He proffers barely half-baked explanations for complex global trends affecting a large, disaffected segment of the American population. For him, and his supporters, everything is linked to a broader more insidious conspiracy against the average American. He uses the very complexity of issues to obfuscate reality and twist them into his own narrative, one that seizes upon ignorance and confusion.
At one-point Jones would have been nothing more than the “crazy uncle,” but he became normalized—finding himself no longer on the fringes, but, in the eyes of his supporters, vindicated as elements of his theories appeared to be validated. Even his conspiracy that the world is run by a cabal of wealthy and powerful pedophiles gained traction with arrest and later death of Jeffrey Epstein and the lack of associated prosecutions. For much of the country, and far too often today, the narrative “what-aboutism” and perceived (and real) failures of the “mainstream media” serve as evidence of official disinformation, acting as an excuse for civic disengagement and intellectual obtuseness.
That slow normalization has made Jones and others of his ilk increasingly part of the dialogue. Those once fringe “theories” and radical beliefs are becoming acceptable and radicalization is the new normal. Reading about it is one thing, but to see it in one’s own family is another entirely. To hear family members—at one point rational—spout what is tantamount to utter nonsense is alarming. Seeing themselves as “red pilled”—taken from the sci-fi film “The Matrix”—they descend into increasingly bizarre rabbit holes (something accelerated with algorithmic encouragement), from which no amount of logic or evidence can extract them. It would be interesting to see what the authors of “Meme Wars” thought of this creeping normalization (beyond the memes themselves) and how it came about.
One wonders what the long-term consequences are when these fringe theories are embraced by elected officials. Some members of Congress continue to question not just the legitimacy of the most recent election, but the foundations of American democracy itself. To be sure there have always been fringe groups within American politics, but there is a distinct line between questioning America’s role in the world on principle and questioning it as a result of some message-board defined conspiracy about a global cabal (which itself is often barely concealed anti-Semitism).
This is troubling for what it says about the future of America’s republic as well as what it says about the ability or willingness of politicians to address the issues which led many Americans to support MAGA in the first place. If politicians can dismiss all Trump supporters as members of a lunatic fringe or as backwards racists (though to be sure some are), what incentive will they have to address the very real issues affecting many of these communities and which motivated many to support him? One suspects that a self-reinforcing cycle of exclusion and alienation could emerge, further driving those on the edges further to the fringe, pulling those closer to the middle in with them.
The authors of “Meme Wars” rightly note the financial incentives behind many of these conspiracy peddlers. Jones is almost as much a supplement salesman as he is a polemicist. The ecosystem of grifters that sprouted up and continues to feed off of the MAGA (and QAnon) movement is legion. If fear sells, then globalist conspiracies and electoral theft are a sure way to guaranteed profit.
The future of the meme wars is unclear. The radical right’s dominance will almost certainly come to an end as the “left” becomes more adept at leveraging memes and social media. Indeed, the White House recently hired the social media manager behind the wildly popular official New Jersey account. Will machine learning, AI, deepfakes, and A/B testing supplant trolls? Perhaps not in the near-term, but one imagines that these tools will serve as an aid to the internet trolls and, more alarmingly, nation-states. Russia and China almost certainly drew lessons from the meme wars. Neither Moscow nor Beijing created the divisions within the United States, but the political warfare and propaganda of both will undoubtedly seize upon the same schisms that online actors both manufacture and exploit.
Reading “Meme Wars” and Jones’ polemic, it is hard not to be disheartened about the future of American democracy. This is not merely a challenge of creating an informed body politic or engaged citizenry, though that would surely help. Addressing the meme wars first requires recognition and appreciation of the problem and the threat it poses to American democracy—something notably missing at the moment as both the left and right are far keener to exploit this for short-term political gain. The incentives (financial and political) for peddling fringe theories are too high, and both social and traditional media are incentivized to drive extreme emotions for profit and engagement. Changing these dynamics will require herculean political effort and a whole-of-nation approach—an effort that a “Lolcat” alone won’t be able to provide, but perhaps it can help.
