“Make A-meme-rica Great Again!”:

Studying the internet memes within the #maga and #trump2020 network during the 2020 US presidential election on Twitter

Abstract

Via a content analysis of 491 internet memes posted within the #maga and #trump2020 network on Twitter during the 2020 US presidential election, this study determined (1) who did the memes target, (2) how were the targets portrayed in the memes, and (3) what were the main themes, or ideas, of the internet memes posted within the community. Findings suggested that the community surrounding the #maga and #trump2020 hashtags primarily employed internet memes to express grassroots support for Donald Trump, his allies, Republican politicians, and conservatives. At the same time, they attempted to create an unfavorable, sometimes menacing, portrayal of Joe Biden, his allies, Democratic politicians, and liberals. Findings, as well as the political participation of internet memes during the election, were discussed.