Post Politics Now: It’s a big week on the world stage for Biden
The meme also shares its DNA with an unexpected corner of the internet, according to a new book set to be released Tuesday: the baseless “Stop the Steal” movement.
In “Meme Wars,” researchers Joan Donovan, Emily Dreyfuss and Brian Friedberg offer an exhaustive account of how the push to delegitimize the 2020 election drew inspiration from the notorious GamerGate harassment campaigns and the Occupy Wall Street protests, among other movements, both in its ideological roots and its online organizing tactics.
The Paul meme, researchers wrote, was partly a nod to the anti-establishment resentment and hopelessness building among users on fringe online platforms like 4chan. It was also a testament to how elected officials could harness those networks and translate them into more mainstream political support, as Paul did to an extent after the Occupy demonstrations.
