Title
Memetic Communication and the Cult of Kek
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Date
Spring 4-9-2018
First Advisor
Dr. Jamie Skerski
Abstract
The 2016 U.S. presidential election season gave rise to new ways of using communication to mobilize political ideology. This paper analyzes the Cult of Kek, a loosely organized online group, through Stuart Hall’s Circuit of Culture. The identity, production, consumption, regulation, and significance of the Cult of Kek is the focal point of study. This research suggests that memetic practices have wide-reaching social and political implications. Political communication has entered memetics via social media platforms and complicates international political discourse. Memes are used by The Cult of Kek and other online groups to subvert cultural hegemonies. These memes are deployed through channels like 4chan, Reddit, and other social media platforms. These memetic practices have involved trolling, doxing, and swatting as a means of persuasion, giving rise to bills for protecting United States citizens from such practices. This study navigates a new frontier of memetic communication that uses banter, mockery, and caricatures as a vehicle to spread their alternative-right ideologies.
Recommended Citation
Campbell, Colleen, "Memetic Communication and the Cult of Kek" (2018). Communication Undergraduate Honors Theses. 7.
https://scholar.colorado.edu/comm_ugrad/7