Pepe the Frog was originally created by Matt Furie in 2005, but later appropriated by the alt-right for images such as this one.

SNA (Sydney) — As the Western alt-right continues to gain traction, internet humor is proving a useful instrument in hiding the community’s more sinister beliefs and intentions. But why are these extremists using simple cartoon images and jokes for some of their primary indoctrination and radicalization methods?

Tina Askanius of Malmo University has noted that there has been “a recent turn to humor, irony, and ambiguity in [alt-right] online communication and [an] increasing adaptation of stylistic strategies and visual aesthetics.” Memes–which  include images, videos, texts, etc., meant to be humorous–are a popular choice for the alt-right.

Of course, most memes found on the internet are non-political and entirely unrelated to the alt-right. Rather, they usually express straightforward and relatable sentiments, such as the popular “This is Fine” meme originally created by K. C. Green in 2013.

“This is Fine” meme was originally created by K. C. Green in 2013

However, the apparent harmlessness of memes has also made them useful to alt-right activists who aim to disguise violent messages.

An article by analyst Francis de Satge explains that “to the untrained eye, extreme right memes are politically incorrect or edgy satire, not potential terrorist content. However, their specialized in-jokes and jargon… are often uploaded with the intention of ‘rolling off brazen racism’ as ‘half-joking.'”

The use of jokes to avoid blame for unacceptable behavior is neither uncommon nor new. Many would have undoubtedly encountered a situation when someone has said something like “it was just a joke” in order to paint an offense as harmless and to also suggest that any criticism reflects an overly sensitive and overdramatic reaction.

According to psychologist David J. Ley, “jokes are, inherently, deceptive” and allow people to communicate a false, exaggerated, or dark ideas in ways seen as socially acceptable, or at least excusable.

It was likely not an exaggeration when news publication Quartz stated that “no political movement has created an internet dialect with the speed and scale of the alt-right.” The incel (involuntary celibate) internet subculture is a prime example of this–creating almost an entire vernacular based on memes, jokes, and acronyms alone. Here are some samples of this language:

Femoid/foid/void: Female humanoid organism (refers to all women)

Roasty: A woman whose labia have stretched due to frequent sex with multiple men

Stacy: A blonde, white, blue-eyed, sexually attractive woman

Landwhale: An overweight woman

Noodlewhore: An Asian woman (usually East Asian)

Becky: A woman less desirable than a “Stacy” but more “attainable”

Chad: An attractive, popular man who is sexually successful with women (usually white)

Tyrone: A black man who is a close “Chad” equivalent, but is less desirable to “Stacies”

Soyboy: A man that lacks masculine characteristics and is sensitive (in “womanish” ways)

Ricecel: An East Asian incel

Meek: A man who is morally bad, but still able to have sexual success with women because he is physically attractive

Normie: Someone who is neurotypical, average-looking, and of average intelligence (a gender-neutral term)

The creation and appropriation of memes by the alt-right to spread discriminatory propaganda became more evident during and after the 2016 US elections. One instance stood out: Pepe the Frog.

Pepe the Frog was created in 2005 by Matt Furie for a comic called Boy’s Club. The original character is firmly apolitical. In the 2005-2015 period, the character was a popular meme used only to express emotions.

However, in 2015 it was appropriated by the alt-right. The character was edited to portray Ku Klux Klan outfits, Nazi uniforms, and white power skinheads. It was famously used as a portrait of Donald Trump in pro-Trump online communications. In fact, a study by Maxime Dafaure, lecturer at Universite Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallee, revealed that “with the help of irony, subversion, and often carefully engineered propaganda-like messages and images, the alt-right, it boasts, ‘meme’d into office’ the Republican candidate.”

By the end of 2016, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) added Pepe the Frog to its list of hate symbols, but due to the cartoonish appearance of these violently offensive images, many did not take them seriously and deemed the ADL listing as “ridiculous” and an overreaction–after all, it’s “just a meme.”

A similar issue occurred with the “okay” hand sign. In 2017, an anonymous user of 4chan, a popular internet website among alt-right extremists, announced “Operation O-KKK.” The aim was to “own the libs” by making them believe that the harmless hand sign was, in fact, a symbol for White Power.

The project was successful, and many progressive social media users believed the hoax. Unsurprisingly, it did not remain as one. By the end of 2017, the hand gesture was being used by white supremacists as a genuine sign of their beliefs and intentions. For example, the Christchurch, New Zealand, terrorist made the sign during a court hearing following his murder of 51 people in March 2019.

The “okay” hand gesture finally became recognized as a hate symbol in 2019 by the ADL. Not unlike Pepe the Frog’s listing, this decision, too, was met with much the same ridicule.

Alt-right extremists took all of this as evidence of just how gullible the “left media” is.

For breaking news, follow on Twitter @ShingetsuNews