The Impact Of Memes On Politics

Bernie Sanders wearing mittens at Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration in 2021, which later became the face of thousands of memes.

The media is the heartbeat of politics. It connects the people with the leaders, provides policy information, and covers the activities of the government. Without the media, the information required to make every vote and decision, including in elections and political movements, wouldn’t be available. The media is inherently tied to human interaction, making effective idea communication the modern way we connect. Today's generation communicates at lightning speed and efficiency, thinking in emojis, short-form content, and, most importantly, memes, which capture us quickly and emotionally.

But memes stay in our memory because they are more than just an attention-catching picture or a sentimental tie; it's the brevity, the joke, and the message. Memes are crafted to be spread by rendering difficult messages familiar through a format that is humorous or simply comprehensible, which makes memes capable of spreading easily and influencing people. When memes cause you to laugh, dopamine is released in the brain, which helps create associations between memories and pleasure/reward, resulting in enhanced memory recall.

Memes are an especially memorable and effective form of communication. They have been used by politicians, pundits, and ordinary individuals to spread political and social messages because they engage with the audience. This makes it easier for people like politicians to spread their campaigns because memes allow audiences to remember or relate to their message, extending their reach to possible voters. Political issues are difficult to understand due to barriers like policies, intricate history, and differing opinions. Still, memes bypass these barriers and simplify the issues into just a sentence or a drawing.

In addition, memes make political talk more open and democratic by encouraging civic engagement. First, messages in mainstream media are polished and filtered out by long-standing institutions. Memes are experts at bypassing this filtration and making an impression, and politicians, activists, and ordinary citizens can join. This approach of using memes and humor mobilizes various political voices and establishes a community based on shared opinions and ideologies. These aren't communities based on mere laughs but common interests that can shape political opinions and drive real-world action.

One of the top political memes is the "Bernie Sanders Mittens" moment. It depicts Senator Bernie Sanders sitting relaxed in a folding chair at the 2021 presidential inauguration while wearing a cozy pair of mittens. His relaxed demeanor in such a political and social environment stirred controversy because of its absurdity. The vast majority of young adults admired his earthy nature in this picture, which made him real and trustworthy and improved his political stature as a genuine figure. The global trend and impact of the "Bernie Sanders Mittens" meme was more than just a few chuckles.

Bernie Sanders' campaign designed merchandise in the form of T-shirts, stickers, and online materials with Sanders' memes because the merchandise juxtaposed his image with those of slick political elites. Using the power of memes, an enormous amount of money was able to be raised for charity via merchandise sales and sponsored campaign activities, demonstrating its cultural impact alongside its campaign value.

However, as with almost all media we read nowadays, there is always the potential for misinformation, make-believe, and lewd language. One such vivid example is the U.S. national anthem kneeling protests. Beginning in 2016, NFL players protested police brutality, institutionalized racism, and later, President Donald Trump's criticism of the protesters in 2017. Kneeling during the national anthem, or "taking a knee," was a nonviolent protest by the NFL players. But it caused massive outrage among conservatives, and many falsely claimed that it was a display of disrespect for the nation.

No wonder memes spread false information about what the NFL players were trying to do. Social media went wild with memes, sometimes spreading misinformation about the public controversy. Several memes circulated claiming that NFL administrators and politicians were trying to deter players from protesting by subjecting the players to disqualification if they knelt during the national anthem. Other memes misquoted the entire intention of the peaceful protests by saying that the NFL players were part of a political movement to destroy national pride and erase the country's traditions. The memes utilized image editing and misquoting, resulting in intense criticism and hatred for the protesting NFL players.

The most obvious example of bigotry and hate towards protesters was against San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who had initiated the protests. Since opting out of his 49ers contract in 2017 as a free agent, Kaepernick has remained unsigned by any NFL team, partly due to his kneeling protest, which damaged the league's reputation after memes spread disinformation about it.

Memes demystify the political language and encourage ordinary individuals to join in, with citizens and politicians having a chance to influence public discussion. However, memes can also transmit misinformation because they are designed to be catchy and passed along. In the case of the NFL kneeling protests, for instance, some memes distorted the protests to demonize the players protesting. Thus, memes are a double-edged sword to an extent—they can facilitate interaction and understanding, but they can also sometimes make honest debate more difficult and distort facts.