Memes are meant to be funny, they float around social media giving short caption to pictures. however, these things that are intended to be funny could fuel fake news. People tend to believe what they see. Even if memes are not intended to imply truth, people find truth and form opinions off of them.
Above are examples of some memes I see frequently on media. These are things that are available to the masses, and no matter what the intention is they are a form of fake news and they impact the opinions of citizens. These are all memes surrounding presidents because this is still a hot topic. If you someone who did not know much read these they would think President Trump is a brain dead, fascist, oompa-loompa. This may seem funny, but in impacts society.
I do not believe that many people consider memes to be a form of fake news, however after researching this topic more I think they are a very serious source of fake news.
What do you think?
It’s hard to claim if memes are fake news or if they are meant to be funny. I feel like it’s a little bit of both and we cannot put them into one category. I think it depends on the meme like the one with the first for presidents mentioned above that one is comical. But the one that a comedian did with a bedaded photo of Trump was a little too far. Some people took it seriously. I think that would be fake news!
ReplyDeleteI think memes have the ability to form people's personal opinions about many things. They definitely can mold people's political choices. I think a reason that they are so popular is that they convey information in a simple yet relatable way.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more that memes and gifs that do show false information are not only fake news but I do believe influence a lot of people. One Facebook page I see doing this numerous times each day is Occupy Democrats. They post memes and a punch line and many individuals just believe it to be fact without any back up research. Most of them just fuel the fire of division as well. I am not just picking on Occupy Democrats I am sure there are numerous pages from both sides but the idea of a quick image and a punchline seems to be the new way of political discussion for many Americans. Heck even Twitter in itself with its character limit I think discourages real political conversation.
ReplyDeleteI dont think meme's could be considered as fake news. They are just political puns, sarcasm, humor, and insults really. They are intended for comedic purposes. Of course some meme's are serious and do portray a collective thought or idea but as Konner stated i dont think it's as black or white. When i think of fake news i think of false reports or fabricated stories, not memes or opinion based information.
ReplyDeleteMeme's are not a form of fake news. By any means, fake news can be defined as news organizations and opinion leaders spewing false information to the masses. Many people who make memes are not of considered political opinion leaders.
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