About thirty Instagram users running “meme” accounts
had their work deactivated and removed this weekend, following a similar purge
last December. Fox5 in San Diego offers
a typical story.
Some critics say that the incident is related to a
FB-driven crackdown on conservative or even libertarian ideology, and is
motivated by the 2020 elections, and more observers are noting the enormous
power social media companies have on American elections, possibly with Russian
influence (as with Mueller’s testimony last week).
A narrower reading of the incident suggests that some
users were violating terms of service, including offering verification services
or restoration available only to members of the established media (although why
that would be so is disturbing). Several users were making large incomes, one
as a college fund.
Memes normally comprise graphics or brief video or audio
that metaphorically illustrate a political concept, but sometimes even wordmarks (like my “do
ask do tell”) are viewed as memes. Pewdiepie,
a entertainer and a grown man getting rich by acting out online the role of a little
boy playing with Christmas toys (like Minecraft) brags about his memes in gest
with no real political message. Unfortunately,
people read into memes what they want to see already.
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