By CLAIRE WANG<\/p>\n
Memes have dominated the 2016 presidential election, satirizing the candidates\u2019 looks, dramatizing their controversial policies, and commercializing their battle cries (\u201cI\u2019m with Her!\u201d \u201cGrab \u2018Em by the Pussy!\u201d). Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have been both their subjects and creators. Their over-paid marketing staff have embraced memes as a convenient, lighthearted way to clap back at their opponent (\u201cDelete your account\u201d), spread campaign messages, and pander to specific racial groups (“abuela” jokes for the Hispanic folks, Beyonce lyrics for the black, Pokemon Go references for millennials).<\/p>\n
College students are the most enthusiastic consumer of memes. While they understand the advertising and entertainment values of memes, liberal and conservative students alike\u00a0also notice the harmful ways in which\u00a0meme culture has influenced politics in the past year.<\/p>\n
Ann Park, a politics major at NYU, said that memes disproportionately benefit Clinton because Trump is more problematic and, therefore, so much more “memable.”<\/p>\n
“Memes get people to focus on the shortcomings of the candidates instead of their strengths,” she said. “You can only \u00a0this is how it benefits Clinton
\nmore people know about hillary’s emails than her
\npneunomia<\/p>\n
Aside from that, memes also helped cultivate enticing but flatly false rumors, Park said. On both sides of the political aisle, this claims rings true. News of\u00a0Clinton’s pneumonia in September sent Dems and Republicans alike scurrying for explanations.\u00a0Many thought she was in critical condition. Somehow somewhere, a body double theory miraculously gained traction.<\/p>\n
\n#HillarysHealth<\/a> #HILLARYSBODYDOUBLE<\/a> @TheDemocrats<\/a> Really? pic.twitter.com\/gxzEcdn6JQ<\/a><\/p>\n
— OathKeepers.org (@OathKeeper101st) September 12, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n