online msg bd

=<div>this is an early node, originally about freepers etc</div><div>but shd acknowledge /link that 4chan etc came from these?</div><div>
</div><div></div><div>prolly 2x, see escalator</div><div>
</div><div><a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/maga-trolls/far-right-message-boards-push-murder-conspiracy-theory-regarding-rep-ilhan-omar">https://www.mediamatters.org/maga-trolls/far-right-message-boards-push-murder-conspiracy-theory-regarding-rep-ilhan-omar</a></div><div>
</div><div><div>no lnx twt pix many</div><div>
</div><div>A  new baseless conspiracy theory about Rep. Ilhan Omar can be traced back to far-right message boards</div><div>WRITTEN BY ALEX KAPLAN</div><div>
</div><div>PUBLISHED 09/09/19 2:26 PM EDT</div><div>
</div><div>UPDATED 12/06/19 12:15 PM EST</div><div>
</div><div>Update (12/6/19): On October 7, Danielle Stella, a Republican congressional candidate running against Omar and a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory, pushed the conspiracy theory about Omar on Telegram. She posted an image of a tweet that claimed that an “apparent hit man” for Omar “fails to kill [her] target, and kills look alike” and accused the mainstream media of trying to “desperately … label the targeted murder as ‘random.’”</div><div>
</div><div>Far-right message boards created and helped spread a baseless conspiracy theory suggesting that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) ordered a Washington, D.C., woman’s killing. The conspiracy theory has spread onto multiple social media platforms, where some content promoting it has gone viral.</div><div>
</div><div>On August 27, a young woman was reportedly stabbed to death while walking dogs in Washington, D.C. Despite reports that local police consider it to be a random attack by a suspect whose “adulthood has been marked by periods of homelessness and hospitalizations for mental illness,” far-right message boards have without any evidence connected the woman’s killing to Omar. The baseless claim has since spread onto social media platforms including YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.</div><div>
</div><div>How the baseless claim spread</div><div>On August 29, an anonymous user on 4chan’s “/pol/,” a message board known for spreading white nationalism and conspiracy theories, claimed that the D.C. stabbing victim looked “very similar” to a woman who has alleged that her husband had an affair with Omar (which her husband has denied). The 4chan user claimed that the slain dog walker “could easily have been mistaken for” the other woman, calling it a “possible Omaracide.” The post received more than 300 replies, with many users agreeing that the conspiracy theory “seems likely” and lauding the original poster.</div><div>
</div><div>4chan Omar conspiracy theory</div><div>Later that evening, a user on pro-gun forum AR15.com cited “/pol/” in asking, “Was the murder of a random redhead actually a political assassination plot to benefit Ilhan Omar?”</div><div>
</div><div>Gun forum Omar conspiracy1</div><div>During the morning of August 30, the baseless claim spread to subreddits “r/The_Donald” and “r/conspiracy,” both of which are also known for spreading conspiracy theories. The “r/The_Donald” user posted largely the same language as the 4chan post, and “r/conspiracy” posted an image of the 4chan post. The post on “r/The_Donald” received thousands of “upvotes,” ranking it higher on the subreddit and helping it to spread.</div><div>
</div><div>The Donald Omar conspiracy</div><div>Conspiracy subreddit Omar conspiracy</div><div>That afternoon, a far-right YouTube channel posted a video pushing the conspiracy theory titled “Did Ilhan Omar Order a Hit Job On Her Boyfriend's Wife?!” The video directly cited the post from “r/The_Donald” and has nearly 90,000 views.</div><div>
</div><div>YouTube Omar conspiracy theory image</div><div>That evening, Twitter account @newanddangerous tweeted much of the same language as the 4chan post, and the tweet has received nearly 10,000 retweets.</div><div>
</div><div>@newanddangerous Omar conspiracy</div><div>Among those who have shared @newanddangerous’ tweet include conspiracy theorist Devon Stack; a Pizzagate conspiracy theorist who was previously thrown out of a Joe Biden event; and a former adult film star turned far-right conspiracy theorist. The tweet was also shared over Telegram by a far-right channel.</div><div>
</div><div>Devon Stack conspiracy theory</div><div>PG Howie Omar conspiracy theory</div><div>Jenna Jameson Omar conspiracy</div><div>On the morning of August 31, a verified YouTube channel supporting the QAnon conspiracy theory posted a video sharing the conspiracy theory and directly cited the 4chan post. The video has nearly 100,000 views.</div><div>
</div><div>YouTube QAnon channel Omar conspiracy theory image</div><div>Meanwhile, the conspiracy theory continued to spread on Twitter, including from multiple accounts promoting QAnon and its slogan, “Where we go one, we go all,” or “WWG1WGA.” Some of their tweets were also shared on Facebook, along with the 4chan thread and the conspiracy theory itself.</div><div>
</div><div>@PROUDPATRIOT45 Omar conspiracy theory</div><div>Also on August 31, another QAnon account on a site called poal also shared the 4chan thread, saying “/pol/” had “nailed it.” Before It’s News, a conspiracy theory site known for pushing falsities, including Pizzagate, cross-posted an article the following day questioning if Omar had “tried to murder her new lover’s wife.” It also cited 4chan.</div><div>
</div><div>Before It's News Omar conspiracy theory</div><div>The conspiracy theory also continued to circulate on 4chan -- one user even cited @newanddangerous’ tweet with language based on the original 4chan post -- and on “r/The_Donald,” where a user posted an image of the August 29 gun forum post. In total, there have been more than 400 posts on 4chan about the conspiracy theory.</div><div>
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</div><div></div><div>Although Spencer has positioned himself as the effective leader of the Alt-Right, other proponents include several well-known names on the far right, including <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/jared-taylor" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 0.3s;">Jared Taylor</a> , editor of the <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/american-renaissance" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 0.3s;">American Renaissance</a> racist journal; Greg Johnson of the publishing house Counter-Currents; Matthew Parrott and <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/matthew-heimbach" style="text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 0.3s;">Matthew Heimbach</a> of the Traditionalist Youth Network; and Mike Enoch, who runs The Right Stuff blog. But the general population of the Alt-Right is composed, by and large, of anonymous youths who were exposed to the movement’s ideas through online message boards like 4chan and 8chan’s /pol/ and Internet platforms like Reddit and Twitter.</div><div>=</div><div>
</div><div>wiki</div><div>
</div><div>4chan is an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language" title="English language" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">English-language</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imageboard" title="Imageboard" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">imageboard</a> website. Users generally post anonymously, with the most recent posts appearing above the rest. 4chan is split into various boards with their own specific content and guidelines. Registration is not required, nor is it possible (except for staff).Launched on October 1, 2003, the site was modeled on Japanese imageboards, particularly <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futaba_Channel" title="Futaba Channel" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2chan</a>. 4chans first boards were originally primarily used for posting pictures and discussing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga" title="Manga" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">manga</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime" title="Anime" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">anime</a>. The site quickly became popular and expanded, and now features boards dedicated to a wide variety of topics, from anime (and other <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otaku" title="Otaku" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">otaku</a> topics), to videogames, music, literature, fitness, politics and sports.The site has been linked to Internet <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subculture" title="Subculture" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">subcultures</a> and activism, most notably <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous(group)" title="Anonymous (group)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Anonymous</a>, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alt-right" title="Alt-right" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">alt-right</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Chanology" title="Project Chanology" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Project Chanology</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-3" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[3]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[4]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-5" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[5]</a> 4chan users have been responsible for the formation or popularization of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme" title="Internet meme" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Internet memes</a> such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolcat" title="Lolcat" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">lolcats</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling" title="Rickrolling" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Rickrolling</a>, "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_Rain" title="Chocolate Rain" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Chocolate Rain</a>", <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedobear" title="Pedobear" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Pedobear</a> and many others. The site's "Random" board, also known as "/b/", was the first board to be created, and is the one that receives the most traffic.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-mit-6" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[6]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-bartlett-7" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[7]</a> As its name suggests, the Random board has minimal rules on posted content. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gawker" title="Gawker" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Gawker</a> once jokingly claimed that "reading /b/ will melt your brain".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-Gawker-8" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[8]</a> The site's anonymous community and culture have often provoked media attention. For <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_planner" class="mw-redirect" title="Media planner" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">media planners</a>, this enterprise is "further proof that creativity is everywhere and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_media" title="New media" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">new media</a> is less accessible" to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising_agency" title="Advertising agency" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">advertisement agencies</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-9" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[9]</a>4chan users have been instrumental in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pranks" class="mw-redirect" title="Pranks" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">pranks</a> such as hijacking Internet destinations to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickrolling" title="Rickrolling" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">cause images of Rick Astley to appear in place of their content</a>, coordinating attacks against other websites and Internet users, and posting threats of violence in order to elicit individual and public reactions. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guardian" title="The Guardian" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">The Guardian</a> once summarized the 4chan community as "lunatic, juvenile [...] brilliant, ridiculous and alarming."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-TakingRick-10" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[10]</a><div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><div id="toctitle" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;"><h2 style="background: none; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border: 0px; display: inline; line-height: 1.3;">Contents</h2>  [<a role="button" tabindex="0" id="togglelink" style="background: none; cursor: pointer;">hide</a>] </div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Background" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">1Background</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#History" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2History</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Christopher_Poole" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2.1Christopher Poole</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Links_to_Anonymous_and_Project_Chanology" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">3Links to Anonymous and Project Chanology</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Notable_imageboards" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">4Notable imageboards</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#.2Fb.2F" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">4.1/b/</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#.2Fpol.2F" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">4.2/pol/</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Internet_memes" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">5Internet memes</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Lolcats" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">5.1Lolcats</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Rickrolling" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">5.2Rickrolling</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#.22Chocolate_Rain.22" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">5.3"Chocolate Rain"</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Boxxy" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">5.4Boxxy</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Pedobear" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">5.5Pedobear</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-14" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Other_media_attention" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">6Other media attention</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-15" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Arrests_for_animal_abuse" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">6.1Arrests for animal abuse</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-16" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#.22This_post_is_art.22" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">6.2"This post is art"</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-17" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Controversies" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">7Controversies</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-18" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Internet_attacks" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">7.1Internet attacks</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-19" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Threats_of_violence" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">7.2Threats of violence</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-20" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Arrests_for_child_pornography_and_cyberbullying" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">7.3Arrests for child pornography and cyberbullying</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-21" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Celebrity_photo_leaks" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">7.4Celebrity photo leaks</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-22" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Gamergate" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">7.5Gamergate</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-23" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Murder_in_Port_Orchard.2C_Washington" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">7.6Murder in Port Orchard, Washington</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-24" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#ISP_bans" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">8ISP bans</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-25" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#AT.26T_temporary_ban" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">8.1AT&T temporary ban</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-26" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Verizon_temporary_ban" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">8.2Verizon temporary ban</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-27" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#See_also" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">9See also</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-28" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#Notes" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">10Notes</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-29" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#References" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">11References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-30" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#External_links" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">12External links</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height">Background</h2>
4chan is one of the Internet's most trafficked imageboards, according to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Times" title="Los Angeles Times" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Los Angeles Times</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-swat_15-0" class="reference" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" line-height="line-height" unicode-bidi="unicode-bidi" isolate="isolate" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-swat-15" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[14]</a> 4chan's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexa_Internet" title="Alexa Internet" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background="background" none="none" text-decoration="text-decoration">Alexa</a> rank is generally around 700,<sup id="cite_ref-Alexa_16-0" class="reference" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" line-height="line-height" unicode-bidi="unicode-bidi" isolate="isolate" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-Alexa-16" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[15]</a> though it has been as high as number 56 at times.<sup id="cite_ref-landers_17-0" class="reference" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" line-height="line-height" unicode-bidi="unicode-bidi" isolate="isolate" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-landers-17" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[16]</a> It is provided to its users free of charge and consumes a large amount of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwidth(computing)" title="Bandwidth (computing)" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background="background" none="none" text-decoration="text-decoration">bandwidth</a>; as a result, its financing has often been problematic. Poole acknowledges that donations alone cannot keep the site online, so he has turned to advertising to help make ends meet.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" line-height="line-height" unicode-bidi="unicode-bidi" isolate="isolate" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-18" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[17]</a> However, the explicit content hosted on 4chan has deterred businesses who do not want to be associated with the site's content.<sup id="cite_ref-time_19-0" class="reference" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" line-height="line-height" unicode-bidi="unicode-bidi" isolate="isolate" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-time-19" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[18]</a> In January 2009, Poole signed a new deal with an advertising company; in February 2009, he was $20,000 in debt and the site was continuing to lose money.<sup id="cite_ref-WP-17Feb09_20-0" class="reference" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" line-height="line-height" unicode-bidi="unicode-bidi" isolate="isolate" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-WP-17Feb09-20" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[19]</a> The 4chan servers were moved from Texas to California in August 2008, which upgraded the maximum bandwidth throughput of 4chan from 100Mbit/s to 1Gbit/s.<sup id="cite_ref-beyond_21-0" class="reference" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" line-height="line-height" unicode-bidi="unicode-bidi" isolate="isolate" white-space="white-space" nowrap="nowrap"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-beyond-21" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[20]</a>The activity of 4chan takes place on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_forum" title="Internet forum" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">message boards</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imageboard" title="Imageboard" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">imageboards</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-Gawker-8" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[8]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-what4chan-11" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[11]</a> The website is split into six categories: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Japan" title="Culture of Japan" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Japanese culture</a>, Interests, Creative, Adult (18+), Other, and Misc (18+). These provide for on-topic boards to discuss <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime" title="Anime" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">anime</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga" title="Manga" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">manga</a>, technology, sport, photography, music, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hentai" title="Hentai" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">hentai</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitTorrent(protocol)" class="mw-redirect" title="BitTorrent (protocol)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">torrents</a>, travel, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_fitness" title="Physical fitness" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">physical fitness</a>, as well as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#.2Fb.2F" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">random</a> board. 4chan originally hosted discussion boards on a separate domain called "world4ch", but these were later moved to the dis.4chan.org subdomain.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-12" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[12]</a> The site has had at least one employee, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmer" title="Programmer" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">programmer</a> whom 4chan's founder <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Poole" title="Christopher Poole" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Christopher Poole</a> met via online <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris" title="Tetris" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Tetris</a>. All other <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_forum" title="Internet forum" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">moderators</a> are volunteers.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-wsj-13" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[13]</a> As of 2011, the /b/ (Random), /v/ (Video games), /a/ (Anime and Manga), and /s/ (explicit images) boards were respectively the site's first, second, third, and fourth most popular boards.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-2011japaninterview-14" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[note 1]</a>Unlike most web forums, 4chan does not have a registration system, allowing users to post <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymity" title="Anonymity" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">anonymously</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-TheStar-22" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[21]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-23" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[22]</a> Any nickname may be used when posting, even one that has been previously adopted, such as "Anonymous" or "moot".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-24" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[23]</a> In place of registration, 4chan has provided <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripcode" class="mw-redirect" title="Tripcode" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">tripcodes</a> as an optional form of authenticating a poster's identity.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-25" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[24]</a> As making a post without filling in the "Name" field causes posts to be attributed to "Anonymous", general understanding on 4chan holds that Anonymous is not a single person but a collective (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beehive_symbolism" class="mw-redirect" title="Beehive symbolism" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">hive</a>) of users.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-26" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[25]</a> Moderators generally post without a name even when performing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sysop" title="Sysop" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">sysop</a> actions. A "capcode" may be used to attribute the post to "Anonymous ## Mod", although moderators often post without the capcode.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-27" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[26]</a> In a 2011 interview on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nico_Nico_Douga" class="mw-redirect" title="Nico Nico Douga" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Nico Nico Douga</a>, Poole explained that there are approximately 20 volunteer moderators active on 4chan.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-2011japaninterview-14" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[note 1]</a> 4chan also has a junior moderation team, called "janitors", who may delete posts or images and suggest that the normal moderation team ban a user, but who can not post with a capcode. Revealing oneself as a janitor is grounds for immediate dismissal.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-28" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[27]</a>4chan has been the target of occasional <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denial-of-service_attack" title="Denial-of-service attack" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">denial of service attacks</a>. For instance, on December 28, 2010, 4chan and other websites went down due to such an attack, following which Poole said on his blog, "We now join the ranks of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MasterCard" title="MasterCard" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">MasterCard</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_Inc." title="Visa Inc." style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Visa</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PayPal" title="PayPal" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">PayPal</a>, et al.—an exclusive club!"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-29" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[28]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height">History</h2>4chan was started in 2003 in the bedroom of Christopher Poole, a then-15-year-old student from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City" title="New York City" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">New York City</a> whose 4chan handle is "moot".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-wsj-13" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[13]</a> Prior to starting 4chan, Poole had been a regular participant on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Something_Awful" title="Something Awful" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Something Awful</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_forum" title="Internet forum" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">forums</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-TheStar-22" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[21]</a> He intended 4chan to be an American counterpart to the popular Japanese <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futaba_Channel" title="Futaba Channel" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Futaba Channel</a> ("2chan") imageboard and a place to discuss <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga" title="Manga" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">manga</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime" title="Anime" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">anime</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-what4chan-11" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[11]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-30" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[29]</a> Upon the creation of 4chan, Poole encouraged users from the Something Awful subforum titled "Anime Death Tentacle Rape Whorehouse", who also happened to be dissatisfied with the forum, to discuss anime on his website.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-forbes2015-31" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[30]</a> Poole originally used the Futaba Channel to obtain anime-related images, and liked the concept of a message board where people anonymously shared images, which eventually led to his idea of creating a similar English-based website. During the creation of 4chan, he obtained the source code for the Futaba Channel website, and translated the Japanese text into English using Altavista's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahoo!Babel_Fish" class="mw-redirect" title="Yahoo! Babel Fish" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Babelfish</a> online translator.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-2011japaninterview-14" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[note 1]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-TechRev-32" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[31]</a> During 4chans earliest days, it had only two boards: "/a/ – Anime/General" and "/b/ – Anime/Random" (the very first board to be created); more boards were created over time, and /b/ was eventually renamed to simply "/b/ – Random".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-2011japaninterview-14" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[note 1]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-TechRev-32" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[31]</a>During the early days of 4chan, the boards that originally existed were the anime, random, cute, hentai, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaoi" title="Yaoi" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">yaoi</a> boards; a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolicon" title="Lolicon" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">lolicon</a> board also existed at /l/,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-33" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[32]</a> but after being disabled for a week around the turn of the year 2004 it was removed in October 2004.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-34" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[33]</a> The /g/ board also was initially dedicated to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ero_guro" title="Ero guro" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">guro</a>, before it was deleted and later remade as the "technology" board.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-35" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[34]</a> During 2004, 4chan briefly went offline,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-36" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[35]</a> then returned fully online a few months later.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-37" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[36]</a> Following 4chan's return, some non-anime related boards, such as the weapons, automobile, and video games boards, were introduced.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-38" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[37]</a>In January 2011, Poole announced the deletion of the /r9k/ ("ROBOT9000") and /new/ (News) boards, saying that /new/ had become devoted to racist discussions, and /r9k/ no longer served its original purpose of being a test implementation of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xkcd" title="Xkcd" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">xkcd</a>'s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROBOT9000" class="mw-redirect" title="ROBOT9000" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">ROBOT9000</a> script.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-auto-39" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[38]</a> During the same year, the /soc/ board was created in an effort to reduce the number of socialization threads on /b/. /r9k/ was restored on October 23, 2011, along with /hc/ ("Hardcore", previously deleted), /pol/ (a rebranding of /new/) and the new /diy/ board, in addition to an apology by Poole where he recalls how he criticized the deletion of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopedia_Dramatica" title="Encyclopedia Dramatica" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Encyclopedia Dramatica</a>, and realized that he had done the same.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-auto1-40" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[39]</a>In 2010, 4chan had implemented <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReCAPTCHA" title="ReCAPTCHA" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">reCAPTCHA</a> in an effort to thwart spam arising from JavaScript worms. By November 2011, 4chan made the transition to utilizing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CloudFlare" class="mw-redirect" title="CloudFlare" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">CloudFlare</a> following a series of distributed denial of service attacks. The 4chan imageboards were rewritten in valid <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML5" title="HTML5" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">HTML5</a>/<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS3" class="mw-redirect" title="CSS3" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">CSS3</a> in May 2012 in an effort to improve client-side performance.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-beyond-21" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[20]</a> On September 28, 2012, 4chan introduced a "4chan pass"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-41" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[40]</a> that, when purchased, "allows users to bypass typing a reCAPTCHA verification when posting and reporting posts on the 4chan image boards"; the money raised from the passes will go towards supporting the site.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-42" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[41]</a>.......<h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">/pol/</h3>/pol/ ("<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_correctness" title="Political correctness" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Politically Incorrect</a>") is 4chan's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_criticism" title="Political criticism" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">political discussion</a> board. A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_forum#Stickying" title="Internet forum" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">stickied</a> thread on its front page states that the board's intended purpose is "discussion of news, world events, political issues, and other related topics."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-76" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[75]</a> /pol/ was created in October 2011 as a rebranding of 4chan's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News" title="News" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">news</a> board, /new/,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-auto1-40" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[39]</a> which was deleted that January for a high volume of racist discussion.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-auto-39" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[38]</a>Media sources have characterized /pol/ as predominantly <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism" title="Racism" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">racist</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexism" title="Sexism" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">sexist</a>, with many of its posts taking an explicitly <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Nazism" title="Neo-Nazism" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">neo-Nazi</a> bent.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-77" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[76]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-auto2-78" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[77]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-auto3-79" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[78]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-80" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[79]</a> The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Poverty_Law_Center" title="Southern Poverty Law Center" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">Southern Poverty Law Center</a> regards /pol/'s rhetorical style as widely emulated by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_supremacy" title="White supremacy" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">white supremacist</a> websites such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Stormer" title="The Daily Stormer" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">The Daily Stormer</a>; the Stormer's editor, Andrew Anglin, concurred.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-auto2-78" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">[77]</a>/pol/ was where screenshots of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trayvon_Martin" title="Trayvon Martin" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Trayvon Martin</a>'s hacked social media accounts were initially posted.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-81" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[80]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-82" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[81]</a> The board's users have started <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifeminism" title="Antifeminism" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">antifeminist</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transphobia" title="Transphobia" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">transphobic</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Arabism" title="Anti-Arabism" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">anti-Arab</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter" title="Twitter" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Twitter</a> campaigns.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-auto3-79" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[78]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-83" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[82]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#cite_note-84" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[83]</a></div><div>=</div><div>Pepe the Frog is a popular <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme" title="Internet meme" style="background: none; text-decoration: none;">Internet meme</a>. The fictional green <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphic" class="mw-redirect" title="Anthropomorphic" style="background: none; text-decoration: none;">anthropomorphic</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frog" title="Frog" style="background: none; text-decoration: none;">frog</a> with a frog-like face and a humanoid body is originally from a comic series by Matt Furie called Boy's Club.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-4chan.27s_Pepe-2" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[2]</a> It became an Internet meme when its popularity steadily grew across <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myspace" title="Myspace" style="background: none; text-decoration: none;">Myspace</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_Online" title="Gaia Online" style="background: none; text-decoration: none;">Gaia Online</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan" title="4chan" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">4chan</a> in 2008. By 2015, it had become one of the most popular memes used on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan" title="4chan" style="background: none; text-decoration: none;">4chan</a>. Beginning in 2015, his image has increasingly been appropriated as a symbol of the controversial <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alt-right" title="Alt-right" style="background: none; text-decoration: none;">alt-right</a> movement[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">citation needed</a>]. Because of the use of Pepe by the alt-right, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Defamation_League" title="Anti-Defamation League" style="background: none; text-decoration: none;">Anti-Defamation League</a> added Pepe the Frog to their database of hate symbols in 2016, adding that not all Pepe memes are racist.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-BBC-3" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[3]</a> Since then, Pepe's creator has publicly expressed his dismay at Pepe being used as a hate symbol.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-4" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[4]</a>The meme's original use has evolved over time and has many variants, including Sad frog, Smug frog, Feels frog, and "You will never..." frog.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-4chan.27s_Frog-5" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[5]</a>
<div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><div id="toctitle" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;"><h2 style="background: none; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border: 0px; display: inline; line-height: 1.3;">Contents</h2>  [<a role="button" tabindex="0" id="togglelink" style="background: none; cursor: pointer;">hide</a>] </div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#History" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">1History</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#Kek" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2Kek</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#Kekistan" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2.1Kekistan</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#Other_uses" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">3Other uses</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#See_also" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">4See also</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#References" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">5References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#Further_reading" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">6Further reading</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">History</h2>Pepe the Frog was created by American artist Matt Furie. Its usage as a meme came from his comic, Boy's Club #1. The progenitor of Boy's Club was a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zine" title="Zine" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">zine</a> that Furie made on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Paint" title="Microsoft Paint" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Microsoft Paint</a> called Playtime, which included Pepe as a character.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[6]</a> He posted his comic in a series of blog posts on Myspace in 2005.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-4chan.27s_Frog-5" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-Q.26A_with_Matt_Furie-7" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[7]</a>In the comic, Pepe was found urinating with his pants pulled down to his ankles and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catchphrase" title="Catchphrase" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">catchphrase</a> "feels good man" was his rationale.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-The_Creator-8" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[8]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-This_guy-9" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[9]</a> Furie took those posts down when the printed edition was published in 2006.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-4chan.27s_Frog-5" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[5]</a>Pepe was used in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog" title="Blog" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">blog</a> posts on Myspace and became an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-joke" title="In-joke" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">in-joke</a> on Gaia Online. In 2008, the page containing Pepe and the catchphrase was scanned and uploaded to 4chan's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan#.2Fb.2F" title="4chan" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">/b/</a> board, which was described by Motherboard as his "permanent home".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-4chan.27s_Frog-5" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[5]</a> It took off among 4chan users, who adapted Pepe's face and the catchphrase to fit different scenarios and emotions, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melancholia" title="Melancholia" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">melancholy</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anger" title="Anger" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">anger</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surprise(emotion)" title="Surprise (emotion)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">surprise</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-4chan.27s_Pepe-2" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[2]</a> Color was also added, originally a black and white line drawing, Pepe became green with brown lips, sometimes in a blue shirt.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-Q.26A_with_Matt_Furie-7" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[7]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-The_Creator-8" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[8]</a> "Feels Guy", or "Wojak", originally an unrelated character typically used to express melancholy, was eventually often paired with Pepe in user-made comics or images.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-This_guy-9" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[9]</a><div class="quotebox" style="float: right; clear: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 0.8em 1.4em; width: 22em; padding: 6px; border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);"><div class="" style="position: relative;">"My Pepe philosophy is simple: 'Feels good man.' It is based on the meaning of the word Pepe: 'To go Pepe.' I find complete joy in physically, emotionally, and spiritually serving Pepe and his friends through comics. Each comic is sacred, and the compassion of my readers transcends any differences, the pain, and fear of 'feeling good.'"</div><cite style="font-style: inherit; display: block;">–Matt Furie, 2015 interview with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Dot" title="The Daily Dot" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">The Daily Dot</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-4chan.27s_Pepe-2" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[2]</a></cite></div>Around 2015, as Pepe's usage was increasing, a phenomenon began on 4chan where users would declare certain variants as rare, known as a "rare Pepe". These images, sometimes as physical paintings,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-10" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[10]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-11" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[11]</a> were put up for sale and auction on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBay" title="EBay" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">eBay</a> and posted in listings on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craigslist" title="Craigslist" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">Craigslist</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-4chan.27s_Pepe-2" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[2]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-4chan.27s_Frog-5" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[5]</a> 4chan users referred to those who used the meme outside of the website as "normies" (or "normalfags") in response to the meme's increase in usage.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-4chan.27s_Frog-5" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[5]</a> That year Pepe was #6 on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_News_and_Analysis" title="Daily News and Analysis" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Daily News and Analysis</a>' list of the most important memes and was the most retweeted meme on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter" title="Twitter" style="background: none; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-12" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[12]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-13" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[13]</a>During the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_United_States_presidential_election" class="mw-redirect" title="2016 United States presidential election" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">2016 United States presidential election</a>, the meme was connected to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_presidential_campaign,2016" title="Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">Donald Trump's campaign</a>. In October 2015, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">Donald Trump</a> retweeted a Pepe representation of himself, associated with a video called "You Can't Stump the Trump (Volume 4)".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-BBC-3" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[3]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-14" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[14]</a> Later in the election, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Stone" title="Roger Stone" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">Roger Stone</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_Jr." title="Donald Trump Jr." style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">Donald Trump Jr.</a> posted a parody movie poster of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expendables(film_series)" title="The Expendables (film series)" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">The Expendables</a> on Twitter and Instagram titled "The Deplorables", a play of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton" title="Hillary Clinton" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">Hillary Clinton</a>'s controversial phrase, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basket_of_deplorables" title="Basket of deplorables" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">basket of deplorables</a>, which included Pepe's face among those of members of the Trump family and other figures popular among the alt-right.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-15" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[15]</a>Also during the election, associations of the character with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_nationalism" title="White nationalism" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">white nationalism</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alt-right" title="Alt-right" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">alt-right</a> were described by various news organizations.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-16" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[16]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-17" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[17]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-18" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[18]</a> In May 2016, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivia_Nuzzi" title="Olivia Nuzzi" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Olivia Nuzzi</a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Beast" title="The Daily Beast" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">The Daily Beast</a> wrote how there was "an actual campaign to reclaim Pepe from normies" and that "turning Pepe into a white nationalist icon" was an explicit goal of some on the alt-right.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-19" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[19]</a> In September 2016, an article published on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Clinton_presidential_campaign,2016" title="Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Hillary Clinton's campaign</a> website described Pepe as "a symbol associated with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_supremacy" title="White supremacy" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">white supremacy</a>" and denounced Donald Trump's campaign for its supposed promotion of the meme.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-20" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[20]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-21" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[21]</a> The same month, the two sources for Nuzzi's Daily Beast article revealed to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Caller" title="The Daily Caller" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">The Daily Caller</a> that they had coordinated beforehand to mislead Nuzzi (particularly about the existence of a campaign) under the expectation that she would uncritically repeat what she was told, with one saying, "Basically, I interspersed various nuggets of truth and exaggerated a lot of things, and sometimes outright lied — in the interest of making a journalist believe that online Trump supporters are largely a group of meme-jihadis who use a cartoon frog to push Nazi propaganda. Because this was funny to me."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-22" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[22]</a> The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Defamation_League" title="Anti-Defamation League" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">Anti-Defamation League</a>, an American organization opposed to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism" title="Antisemitism" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">antisemitism</a>, included Pepe in its hate symbol database but noted that most instances of Pepe were not used in a hate-related context.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-23" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[23]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-24" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[24]</a> In January 2017, in a response to "pundits" calling on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_May" title="Theresa May" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">Theresa May</a> to disrupt Trump's relationship with Russia, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embassy_of_Russia,London" title="Embassy of Russia, London" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">The Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom</a> tweeted an image of Pepe.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-25" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[25]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-26" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[26]</a> White nationalist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_B.Spencer" title="Richard B. Spencer" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">Richard B. Spencer</a>, during a street interview after Trump's inauguration, was preparing to explain the meaning of a Pepe pin on his jacket when he was punched in the face, with the resulting video itself becoming the source of many memes.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-27" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[27]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-28" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[28]</a>In an interview with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esquire(magazine)" title="Esquire (magazine)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Esquire</a>, Furie commented on Pepe's usage as a hate symbol, stating: "It sucks, but I can't control it more than anyone can control frogs on the Internet".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-29" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[29]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantagraphics_Books" title="Fantagraphics Books" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Fantagraphics Books</a>, Furie's publisher, issued a statement condemning the "illegal and repulsive appropriations of the character".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-30" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[30]</a> On October 17, Furie published a satirical take of Pepe's appropriation by the alt-right movement on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nib" title="The Nib" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">The Nib</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-31" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[31]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-32" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[32]</a> This was his first comic for the character since he ended Boy's Club in 2012.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-HuffPost-1" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[1]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Kek</h2>"Esoteric Kekism" is a term for the parody religion of worshipping Pepe the Frog,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-EsoterikKekism-33" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[33]</a> which sprung from the similarity of the slang term for laughter, "kek", and the name of the ancient Egyptian frog god of darkness, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kek(mythology)" title="Kek (mythology)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Kek</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-SHADILAY-34" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[34]</a> This deity, in turn, was associated with Pepe the Frog on internet forums.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-SHADILAY-34" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[34]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-auto6-35" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[35]</a> The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme" title="Internet meme" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">internet meme</a> has its origin on the internet message forum <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan" title="4chan" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">4chan</a> and other chans, and the board <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//pol/" class="mw-redirect" title="/pol/" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">/pol/</a> in particular.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-SHADILAY-34" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[34]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-36" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[36]</a> Kek references are closely associated with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alt-right" title="Alt-right" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">alt-right</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-37" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[37]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-38" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[38]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-39" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[39]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-40" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[40]</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Donald Trump</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-41" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[41]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-42" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[42]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-43" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[43]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-44" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[44]</a>The phrase "kek" originated as a variation of the phrase "lol"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-45" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[45]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-46" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[46]</a> and seems to originate from the video game <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_of_Warcraft" title="World of Warcraft" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">World of Warcraft</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-47" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[47]</a> The phrase then became associated with the Egyptian deity of the same name.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-SHADILAY-34" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[34]</a> It references the occultism of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savitri_Devi" title="Savitri Devi" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Savitri Devi</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-EsoterikKekism-33" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[33]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-48" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[48]</a>During the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,2016" title="United States presidential election, 2016" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2016 United States presidential election</a>, Kek became associated with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alt-right" title="Alt-right" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">alt-right</a> politics.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-49" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[49]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-altright-50" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[50]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-auto-51" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[51]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-auto1-52" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[52]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-auto2-53" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[53]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-auto4-54" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[54]</a> Kek is commonly associated with the occurrence of repeating digits, known as "dubs", on 4chan, as if he had the ability to influence reality through internet memes.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-auto5-55" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[55]</a>Online message boards, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan" title="4chan" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">4chan</a>, first noted a similarity between Kek and the character Pepe the Frog.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-56" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[56]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-auto6-35" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[35]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-57" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[57]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-58" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[58]</a> The phrase is widely used<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-59" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[59]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-60" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[60]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-SHADILAY-34" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[34]</a> and 4chan users see Kek as the "'god' of memes".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-61" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[61]</a><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.6;">Kekistan</h3>When YouTuber <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Benjamin" title="Carl Benjamin" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Sargon of Akkad</a> noticed that 'shitposters' technically could classify as an ethnic group for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Census" class="mw-redirect" title="British Census" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">British Census</a>, he contacted them and requested that Kekistani be added to the census.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-Kekistan_Know_your_meme-62" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[62]</a> The meme went viral with the hashtag #FreeKekistan, and partly due to the listing at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_Your_Meme" title="Know Your Meme" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Know Your Meme</a> he was unsuccessful in getting the tongue-in-cheek ethnicity added to the British Census.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-Kekistan-63" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[63]</a> He suggested that if only 10,000 or so people write in 'Kekistani' as their ethnicity in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Census_2021" title="United Kingdom Census 2021" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2021 Census</a>, it could become an official ethnicity of Britain, similar to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jedi_census_phenomenon" title="Jedi census phenomenon" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Jedi census phenomenon</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-Kekistan-63" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[63]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Other uses</h2><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katy_Perry" title="Katy Perry" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Katy Perry</a> once tweeted an image of Pepe to illustrate her <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_lag" title="Jet lag" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">jet lag</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-4chan.27s_Frog-5" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-The_Creator-8" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[8]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-64" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[64]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicki_Minaj" title="Nicki Minaj" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Nicki Minaj</a> posted a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twerking" title="Twerking" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">twerking</a> Pepe to represent her on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram" title="Instagram" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Instagram</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-4chan.27s_Frog-5" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-The_Creator-8" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[8]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">When the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand" title="New Zealand" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">New Zealand</a> government was accepting <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_flag_referendums,2015%E2%80%9316" title="New Zealand flag referendums, 2015–16" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">proposals for a new national flag</a>, a design with Pepe was submitted.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-65" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[65]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-66" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[66]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-67" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[67]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">In January 2017, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy%27s" title="Wendy's" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Wendy's</a> tweeted an image depicting the "Wendy" mascot as Pepe. The restaurant immediately deleted the tweet and issued a statement: "Our community manager was unaware of the recent evolution of the Pepe meme's meaning and this tweet was promptly deleted."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-68" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[68]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepe_the_Frog#cite_note-69" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[69]</a></li></ul></div><div></div></div>