Rabat – Everyone with a social media account by 2022 has received and sent memes, which are now integrated in our daily digital conversation. But what about the memes that have been so widely spread and left a lasting impact that seek to tackle global challenges.
Some countries where social media content is more censored are using memes to mask controversial topics that demand discussion and would normally be removed as quickly as they are created.
Loopholes for censored topics
China is one example, where a viral meme had a much deeper meaning. An image was shared featuring a bowl of rice and a rabbit, it seems innocent and many would just scroll past.
However, when the words for rice “mi” and rabbit “tu” are read aloud in Chinese they mimic the English words “Me Too”.
The goal was to allow the victims of sexual assault to speak up through their social media accounts, using this meme to let them spread awareness of the #MeToo movement without their posts being removed.
The hashtag #MeToo broke the internet in 2017 when the story was released that the infamous Harvey Weinstein had been sexually assaulting and harassing women for decades.
A meme makes a million
The Bernie Sanders mitten meme was one that took the internet by storm and is now providing a substantial amount of money to charity. The history of the meme originated in 2021 when a photo was taken featuring senator Bernie Sanders sitting wrapped up on inauguration day at the Capitol 2021.
A staggering $1.8 million for charity has been raised by merchandise sold based on the image of the now famous meme. The income received from the image is going to support workers living in what Sanders stated “is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression,” an American news outlet reported.
Humorous memes
In winter 2021, the Ukrainian government tried to introduce humor with a meme to illustrate the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The meme described living next to Russia as a “headache” and has since been retweeted 136.4 thousand times. The Ukrainian government published the meme 2 months before Russia invaded on Feb 24.
Spreading awareness
A meme featuring the popular Simpsons characters also went viral. The meme depicted Bart complaining “this is the hottest day of my life” with Homer’s reply “this is the hottest day of your life so far.” The image draws attention to climate change and was created this summer as many countries around the world experienced the hottest and longest summer to date.
Just these examples of viral memes show they possess more power than they are given credit for, a rare positive attribute to be drawn from the frequently criticized digital age.
