Julia Göke, who is the doctoral researcher at the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History, argues that memes are integral to the creation of contemporary historical consciousness.
By juxtaposing historical imagery with modern contexts, memes, she says, allow for a democratization of history, enabling people to engage with and contribute to historical discourse outside traditional academic frameworks.
In other words, Göke believes memes aren't just jokes or distractions; in her eyes, they act as cultural touchpoints that reflect and shape public memory, revealing how we as a society interpret and reinterpret the past.
Göke sees memes as both mirrors and constructors of historical meaning, giving everyday internet users the tools to interact and discuss the subject in ways that were once the domain of academics.
Göke categorizes this process into four stages:
Productional: Focusing on the creation of memes, this dimension considers the intent and context behind their production, highlighting the role of creators in shaping historical narratives.
Communicative: This step describes accessibility and reach. Memes vary from circulating in small private groups to appearing on widely used platforms, and since they're also highly intertextual, their understanding depends on the audience’s familiarity with the references and codes they use.
Receptive: Here, the emphasis is on how audiences interpret and engage with memes. Likes, dislikes, comments, all of these things determine a particular meme's longevity and relevance.
Historical: Finally, this dimension looks at the role of memes in shaping historical discourse, influencing collective memory and public perception of historical events.
"[Memes] wield significant discursive power, shaping contemporary discourse and providing a platform for diverse political opinions," Göke writes. "They have been shown to play a crucial role in community building, particularly for marginalized groups."
However, at this point, bad actors have also realized their potential. The researcher adds that political memes aren't simply ways for people to share their opinions; they can also be leveraged to manipulate or influence audiences through strategies like inoculating, spreading, or countering ideas, often with the help of trolls. In this way, memes can serve as powerful tools for propaganda and disruption.
For example, during the Brexit referendum, Russian operatives shared memes promoting anti-European Union sentiments, framing the EU as an oppressive force infringing on British sovereignty. This tactic not only fuelled pro-Brexit sentiment but also exploited existing divisions within British society. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
