With people having shorter attention spans that are only a little longer than a TikTok video in a social media-driven world, it is not surprising to see that memes have become one of the most effective and potent, albeit untraditional, tools in politics. What used to be the realm of cat jokes and shareable Monday blues has now turned to the battleground of popular opinion, voting regimes, and even the overthrow of governments. Yes, welcome to the age of free meme-docracy.
Meme Evolution
It may seem that memes, these ridiculous graphic images or video clips with text on top, are light-hearted at first sight. However, what happens under the surface is a powerful, simplifying mechanism of communication through which complex concepts are simplified, politics explained, and, more frequently than not, hypocrisy is nakedly revealed.
The 2016 U.S. presidential election was probably the turning point. A 2018 study by the Media Lab at MIT revealed that memes on social media, such as Facebook and Reddit, had an important effect on the way voters reacted, with both parties in the political divide using humour to galvanise supporters and mock the other party. In India, in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, meme pages such as "Political Memes of India" and "Indian Meme Templates" became a huge hit. Political parties did not hesitate to go to extremes. Memes ceased being mere entertainment to become a weapon, with the BJP running a viral campaign "Main Bhi Chowkidar” and Congress responding with a counter-meme, "Chowkidar Chor Hai".
Memes thrive on crucial elements that make them political dynamite:
- Politics is complicated. Memes are not. Political discourse can be boiled down to entertaining relevant content, whether in a snide Drake format or a distracted boyfriend meme. The citizens, who did not watch the 30-minute policy discussion, will be glad to participate in the meme, laughing about inflation or joblessness.
- The memes are designed to propagate. They surf the algorithm waters of Instagram, Twitter (subsequently X), and Facebook, targeting millions within hours. In 2023, one meme, on the format of "expectation vs reality", comparing political manifestos of the BJP and the Congress, gained more than 5 million shares in India within two days.
- Hilarity, mocking, and even anger memes make people experience emotions that encourage them to get involved, share, and communicate. This emotional charge can be directed around logic; hence, memes can be seen as a strong instrument to influence the perception, good or bad.
Even though memes have the potential to attract the attention of the younger generation and dissolve political apathy, these tools also possess their hazards. The policy that has been simplified in memes and half-truths can be misleading to millions. In the Citizenship Amendment Act (CA) protests in India in 2020, a few memes went through with blown-out of proportion or fake information by both sides of the debate, confusing the real discussion. The formula of deriding an enemy is a common feature of political memes, worsening the ideological gap. The repetitive mocking of ideas that one disagrees with, even when they contain humour, may deepen the accumulation of echo chambers, where healthy discussion is minimised. Memes have an issue making complex issues seem too simple and, in the process, they risk letting the humour and not the facts drive voter decision-making. One commentator on social media joked, "In 2024, we may select a Prime Minister based on who has the hottest meme page."
In the realisation of this power, political parties have started forming meme teams. In India, the IT Cell of the BJP and the digital units of Congress have been reported to be hiring meme makers in addition to conventional election strategists. Funny-sounding, but serious as an influence operation to its core, meme pages enjoy an election gold rush every time elections are in the air. In 2023, a report by Quartz India showed that the activities of meme campaigns that were conducted during the Karnataka Assembly Elections resulted in over 500 million impressions, that were a direct impact on the online discourse relating to the Karnataka Assembly Elections. Independent meme pages too rake in the money with some even getting lakhs of money to promote political messaging under the banner of jokes.
The Future: Meme-ocracy?
The future of political discourse appears to be doomed to be centred on memes based on the attention core platforms like Instagram reels and YouTube shorts, even further shrinking the attention span. Analysts are predicting that the future of elections across parts of the world will not only be determined by party manifestos, but also by the battle of viral content. Politicians capable of laughing at themselves, embracing the meme culture, and creating content that relates to the young and digitally-savvy voters will probably resonate with these voters. There is a silver lining to it, though. Even though memes offer us thin slices of democracy, it is possible to manipulate them. Being a journalist or an academic is no longer necessary to share in a debate about governance; a witty caption and a Canva template will suffice.
Examples that can prove the effect and expansion of memes.
- The United States: Bernie Sanders’ Mittens
Inauguration of President Joe Biden in 2021, Senator Bernie Sanders caught the world off guard as he, bundled up in a parka and warm mittens, became the accidental hero of memes worldwide. Innocent fun soon turned into a sly bit of political commentary on income inequality, government austerity, and Sanders' no-nonsense side to it all. The meme Bernie Mittens has contributed more than 1.8 million dollars to charitable projects in a matter of weeks-demonstrating that even so light-hearted a phenomenon can also inspire communities.
- India: Rahul Gandhi's ‘Pappu’ Image
One of the most enduring meme campaigns in Indian politics has perhaps surrounded the leader of the Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi. The word Pappu, an Urdu term meaning naive, would come to be used concerning him and would be reinforced with numerous memes poking fun at his speeches or gaffes. Being reductive and unfair, the culture of memes has indeed influenced his image in the
eyes of the general population, and serious policies are more difficult to convey. Interestingly, Rahul Gandhi has now turned into memes, and his official social media team is using self-deprecating jokes to communicate with young voters, turning the tables.
- Ukraine: Zelenskyy's Meme War with Russia
In 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy not only struggled on the ground when Russia invaded, but he struggled online as well. His humorous, even meme-based way of communicating maintained a focus on Ukraine throughout the entire world. Superhero edits to snarky quips, Ukraine was able to utilise its digital campaign to describe the power of memes used to spur global unity and, by proxy, satirically undermine the opposition.
Concluson
In a place where the new currency is attention, memes are the new political pamphlet-quick, comic, and most viral imaginable. They oversimplify the complex, appeal to the disinterested, and sometimes, falsify reality. Love them or hate them, memes certainly found themselves a niche in politics. Scrolling, laughing, sharing, we ought to bear in mind: we are dealing with the new type of machinery of persuasion: the meme of your or my least preferred politician is brought about by SpongeBob, Avengers, or any other meme.
The next time you like a political meme twice, think that for just one second, you are acting on democracy. Or at any rate in its funniest form.
References:
- MIT Media Lab Study on Memes & Elections (2018)
- Quartz India: Karnataka Election Digital Impressions Report (2023)
- BBC: How Bernie Sanders’ Mittens Went Viral (2021)
- The Print: How Indian Political Parties Are Using Memes (2023)