Dave RahardjaFeb 12, 2025

I wish more people understand that repeating a conservative #meme to debunk it *only serves to spread the meme*.

Don’t repeat memetic #propaganda, even to criticize it. Certain phrases and memes are popular among bigots because they are effective at turning bigotry into seemingly fun wordplay. By repeating it (even with a big red slash across it) YOU ARE SPREADING THE HATEFUL MEME.

Treat viral bigoted memes like the radioactive waste that they are. Don’t repost them at all if you can. If you must, address them obliquely or abstractly, or hide them behind protective material to shield the casual reader from exposure.

Remember, MOST people browse their timelines without reading anything closely. If you repost a bigoted meme, they’ll view the meme but not your post, and you would have inadvertently spread the meme that much further along.

Show threadThe Sleight Doctor 🃏🍉

@drahardja Agreed. There's also the not inconsequential fact that those most susceptible to the meme's message won't be those able to follow the arguments in your critique. They'll just see the message as legitimized by your engagement with it - and perhaps even enjoy the fact that it irritated you enough to share it. "Owning the libs"!

So it really is pointless masochism to bother with trying to refute such messaging.

Feb 12, 2025 at 5:13pmWeb